THE DEFINITION OF PEACE
by ULYFERAL
Summary: Tired of the violence he sees destroying Aristal, a brilliant but insane Kat seeks to take over the world and force peace his way.
1. Prologue

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

Prologue: A Mad Kat's Definition of Peace

On a remote estate some one hundred miles from the huge city-state called Megakat City, a middle-aged Kat contemplated the world's future while having breakfast with a long time friend.

"Gregory, as I watch the news of yet another failed revolution in that miserable little country called Tuneria, the attempted mob takeover in Sandevar Bay, and the recent destruction by yet another omega in Megakat City, I begin to wonder if our world will ever be at peace." He said to his table companion.

"Ah Darius, you are far too sensitive to the occasional conflict here and there in the world. You never seem to see the positive side of things." His friend chided as he drank his coffee.

"Such as?" Darius asked archly as he nibbled on his croissant.

"Well, our planet is not over crowded. There's enough food, clean air (in most places), plenty of room to grow, advancing technology that makes life easier, or countries that are simple and peaceful and are free to be that way just to name a few. The strife you read about in the papers is soon ended and peace resumes fairly rapidly even in omega prone Megakat City. Their protectors handle their problems swiftly so they don't have a chance to spill out to other countries. They also prevented the world from being taken over by no less than two alien invasions. I think that speaks well for our world's ability to handle most things that come our way quickly and efficiently." Gregory said easily.

"What you say is true in some ways but I've been watching world affairs for some time and I see a pattern of escalating violence, ruthlessness, and destruction spreading across the world." Darius said, shaking his head in disagreement. "If we don't nip it in the bud, the despots and wanna be dictators will take over. There's even the possibility of another world war."

"Surely you exaggerate my friend!" His companion scoffed.

"I do not! The danger is very real and getting closer every year. Something must be done!" Darius said firmly.

His friend blinked in surprise at the older Kat's vehemence. "I don't know why you feel so strongly about this but for the sake of argument, how do you propose to solve this so called encroachment of evil?" He asked, curiously.

"One leader! A person that ensures everyone cohabitates in peace, that the world is cleaned up and returned to it once pristine condition, that medical care and technology is available to all, and that corrupt politicians, dictators, and megalomaniacs are eliminated quickly and permanently." Darius said passionately.

"Uh...isn't that what these other megalomaniacs are after too?" Gregory asked skeptically.

The older Kat made an impatient gesture, "Those creatures are after power at the expense of the lives of Katkind. They care nothing for the world and its well being. This leader would only have the world's best interests at heart. No power is involved but what is required to keep a world running well and, above all, peaceful." 

"I'm sure you've heard the statement, 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'." Gregory admonished.

"Of course, but I firmly believe a strong individual can take control without his ego getting in the way and benefit Katkind despite themselves." Darius said firmly.

His friend shook his head and decided to withdraw from the discussion. "Whatever you say, my friend."

The older Kat stared at his friend in disappointment but didn't pursue the subject further. His plans were laid anyway and he would prove to his friend and to the world that he was strong enough to force peace and harmony on Aristal. 

By next month his plan would be set in motion. His small loyal army was waiting for his orders to begin Project Peace. In less than a year, the world would be at peace with a benevolent leader that would see to all their needs and make the world a happier place. A smile of anticipation passed over his face for a moment as he dreamed of his perfect utopia.

_One month later in the uneasy country of Tuneria..._

Dictator Terrence Stanzer was having a meeting with his top aids. He had been laying out some new plans for crushing the continual attacks by revolutionaries. 

"I want a stop to this constant strife. I don't care how its done but I want it accomplished quickly. The constant problems by these fools is giving me a bad name in the other countries I'm forced to do business with." He snapped angrily.

"I've received recent intelligence on where the rebel leaders may be holed up. I planned on sending a small hand picked team to ferret them out." General Franberg said bluntly.

"Excellent. Let's hope it isn't another wild goose chase." The dictator said sourly. He was about to dismiss his staff when the doors to his second floor balcony slammed open. The heavy double- panned and security laced doors had crumbled like tissue paper from a small but powerful blast.

Flying into the room, over the wreckage of the ruined doors, was a huge tiger followed by a Kat dressed in black. The tiger charged into the room and slaughtered several Kats with its long deadly claws and fangs before they could get up from the table. The Kat dressed in black suddenly changed before their eyes and a huge bear now stood where the Kat had been. 

Screams filled the air as the survivors fired their weapons at the fast moving creatures. Outside the room, the dictator's guards tried desperately to get into the room but the security locks were engaged. They were calling up some heavier weaponry to break in when silence fell on the other side of the door.

Panic strickened, the head of security frantically grabbed the high powered laser rifle from the paws of the arriving back up security team and fired at the door. It took some minutes to burn through the heavy metal door's locking mechanism. The lock was completely burned away when he shut off the laser then kicked in the door. 

When the guards shoved their way into the room the scene that greeted their eyes was nightmarish. The walls, floors, and table were covered in body parts and blood. Bodies lay everywhere. Some had been dismembered others had deep claw marks that had ripped them from neck to groin laying them open. Dictator Stanzer had been decapitated and part of his chest had been ripped off. His laser was still gripped in his paw. It was hideous. As they searched the room they could find no sign of the attackers. 

The bewildered katizens of the country heard conflicting descriptions of the perpetrators but the stories were so fantastic they had a hard time believing it. The only truth they did know was their cruel leader was dead as were his closest advisors. Though they were happy at the loss of their leader they were now leaderless and chaos quickly followed.

_In Megakat City some days later..._

"Hey Chance, listen to this..." Jake Clawson shouted to his friend as he waved a newspaper in his paw. He had been catching up on the news before they started work for the day.

"Listen to what, Jake? " Chance Furlong asked as he came in from the kitchen with a glass of milk in his paw.

"Tuneria's nasty leader and his advisor's were recently assassinated. No one knows who did it but the mess left by the deaths is causing riots worse than the revolutions they've had going on." Jake said gravely.

Chance grimaced, "Crud! How can they not know who did it? That Kat was guarded like Fort Knox and with the best security systems developed from what I heard. How could anyone get in without someone seeing them?"

"The descriptions coming out of there say animals did the deed." Jake said with a look of disbelief.

"Animals? Are you sure you're reading that right?" The tabby snorted.

"That's what it says. The security tapes show a tiger and a bear doing the job but no one is buying it. They think the tapes were doctored somehow." The smaller tom said shaking his head.

"Huh! Sounds loony to me. Even though they are better off without that creep of a leader, the mess left behind by his sudden death must be horrible. Someone better take charge soon or there won't be a country left to take charge of!" Chance said sadly.

"You got that right." Jake said unhappily then sighed as he tossed the paper down and got up from the couch. "Well, time to get to work, buddy."

"Yeah, be right out." Chance said as he went to put his glass in the kitchen.

_In a secret laboratory miles from Megakat City..._

"Excellent work Dr. Welker. This first test was a fantastic success. Now we can move to step two of the plan. Are you ready to handle it?" An older Kat asked his scientist.

"Oh yes sir. Everything is ready for your new recruits." The tall, thin, panther cross male wearing a lab coat said with an eager smile.

"Perfect. Count on them arriving within the week!" Darius said, pleased. Everything was going according to plan. Nothing could stop it now.

_In a country bordering Megakat City..._

On a quiet street as darkness was falling in the country of Sandevar Bay, a well built gray tom dressed in a military uniform was getting out of his car in front of his home. Out of the shadows a small group of fast moving, black clad Kats surrounded him and injected a narcotic before he could cry out. The now unconscious victim was quickly hustled aboard a nondescript green van that had driven up. The kidnapers piled in after him and the van sped away, disappearing into the night.

* * *

_Well here is my first attempt to write an epic. I was inspired by Kanto the Slayer's End Game story. It will be a departure from my usual form of writing though Feral will still have a prominent part. (Heh! He is my main character after all. LOL)_

_Since I love paranormal tales this is a war fought with soldiers who have been involuntarily altered. A mad Kat wants to force peace on the world his way. The SWAT Kats must work with Feral and special forces units to try and stop the rapidly rising death toll as the world is thrown into chaos. _

_You can expect violence, gore, brutal training, escape attempts, death, maybe a small het romance and, of course, fighting in many forms. _

_Please review!! I'll get the next chapter up as quick as I can._


	2. Chapter 1: Kidnaped

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

_Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to post more. I had to figure out what I was going to do and finally had an inspiration hit me while reading Predator Games by Christine Feehan. So here it is...this chapter is the gathering of victims so there won't be that much action yet but the next chapters will have a lot so stay tuned. Please read and review_.

**Chapter 1: Kidnaped**

Due to the alarming number of military officers being kidnapped around the world, Commander Ulysses Feral of Megakat City had been asked by the President of the Sandeval Bay's Confederation to come and meet with his top military advisors. They felt the Commander's expertise would be of some help since they had lost four of their top officers to the kidnappers. Being from a city that was a hotbed for the weird and unusual, the President felt Feral might be able to shed some insight on the problem for them.

After listening to the methods used for the kidnappings and what the Sandeval government had done to try and solve them, Feral had to conclude that his experience would be no better or worse than their own. On that depressing note, the meeting went on to discuss ways and means to capture these unknown assailants as well as try to understand their motives.

It was late, the sun was already disappearing into the bay, when Feral, accompanied by Colonel Torson and his aid Major Linscom, stepped outside the government building to go get a bite to eat and escort Feral to his hotel.

No one dared go anywhere alone since that was the M.O. of the kidnapers. Feral had been telling the Colonel about the last attack by Dr. Viper when he felt the fur on his neck rise in warning.

He ducked down, pulled his weapon and hissed a warning, "We're being watched!"

Colonel Torson and the Major quickly dropped to the ground to present a smaller target. Though they couldn't see anything, they trusted Feral's senses since he had survived some harrowing things in his life and his instincts had never been wrong.

Feral rolled under a truck nearby as the other two managed to find cover behind a row of bushes near the steps of the building. Each had their choice of weapon drawn and were searching for the threat. Nothing seemed to happen for many tense minutes. When they couldn't spot the perceived threat after some ten minutes, the Major decided to carefully stand up to get a better look.

He started to relax and say there was nothing out there when he gave a sudden gasp and slapped his paw to his neck. Seconds later he collapsed. The Colonel quickly dragged his unconscious aid to him and checked him over.

"They're using knock out darts!" The Colonel hissed a warning to Feral when he found the dart.

Feral still could not see where the sniper was. He grit his teeth. He would have called for back up by now but this wasn't his home. "Can you summon help, Colonel." He called softly.

"I tried already! My cell phone and radio are being jammed!" The Colonel growled back angrily. "Do you see anything?"

"No! Whoever it is, they're well hidden!" Feral responded grimly. Tense moments passed when, suddenly, Feral heard another gasp. He couldn't see the Colonel but had to assume it had been he that had made the sound. He growled in his throat and thought bitterly, 'Trapped like a rat!'

As he tried to think what he could possibly do to escape the situation, the sense of danger increased. The next second, he felt a sharp sting on the back of his paw. He stared in shock at the dart before consciousness deserted him.

Dark figures quickly scurried from their hiding places and collected their captives. A van appeared from an alley and pulled up beside them. They hurriedly piled the three bodies aboard and took off at the speed limit so that no one would suspect them of anything.

"Our leader will be pleased. These three are a good catch and apparently have good instincts." One of the kidnapers said, "Especially this one!" He added lightly kicking the boot of the big dark brown Kat. His cohorts nodded their agreement.

Very soon the van arrived at the VIP section of the airport. A jet with a peace symbol logo on its tail waited with its engines running and the door open. The unconscious cargo was efficiently loaded and carefully placed in seats then strapped in, their watchers sitting around them.. The group that had captured them left the plane. They still had work to do.

The flight took only about three hours. The jet was soon landing at a private airfield. Another group of kats dressed in dark blue uniforms with the peace symbol patch embroidered on it took charge of the kidnapees, unloading them and placing them in yet another van.

The jet turned around and left again as the van headed for a hidden retreat in the mountains nearby.

The unconscious kats were carried into a special laboratory and placed on beds. Lab coated strangers surrounded each kat and began taking various samples from them. Each kidnaped individual was examined and a meticulous record was made of the results. The data was compiled with the information already stolen from private files on each kat.

When the examinations were complete, the kats were injected with a strange purple liquid then taken to another room that had a line of individual cells...the cells looked like aquariums. The prisoners could see each other as well as their kidnapers. The prisoners were left alone to recover at their own pace.

_Three hours later..._

Feral woke stiff, his mouth was dry and his head felt like it was stuffed with wool. It took him some time to manage sitting, standing was out of the question at the moment. Shaking his head to try and clear it he looked around at his surroundings. The first thing he noted was he was completely naked, the next was his weird cell.

The walls were clear plastic of some kind all around them except the floor, back wall and ceiling. In the ceiling were four small vents where air was apparently circulated. The floor was half covered in some kind of rubberized material and half was heavily padded, a small metal toilet was in one corner and a small basin hung just above the floor with a slow dripping pipe above it. It didn't overflow, so Feral figured it had an outlet at the back to allow the water to escape thus one would have a constant flow of clean water to drink.

He looked over to his right and saw a beautiful tiger cross female staring at him. "Hello?" He called out hesitantly. She frowned unhappily at him then pointed at the wall and her ear then shook her head. He sighed, nodded back at her that he understood. One could see through the wall but not hear through it.

He turned his head to look in the other cell beside him. It was Colonel Thorson. He was just coming around. The dark tom knew how he felt as he watched the silver tom shove himself to a seated position. Beyond the Colonel, Feral could see many more kats in many more cells. His eyes widened at just how many there were. He whipped his head back toward the female and saw just as many past her.

His heart hammered in fear. So many! The reports they'd received hadn't indicated this many were missing. What was going on?

In a main control room above the pens, the lead scientist, Dr. Welker turned to his superior with a smile. "We are nearly finished filling the quota of subjects you set, sir. One more trip by our capture team and we'll be ready for Phase Two."

"Excellent! How soon will the DNA alteration occur?" Darius Mobar asked.

"The first group injected will begin to alter in about two more hours and the next group two hours after that in sequence until they all start the process. By tomorrow noon, all should be adjusted. By the next day, training can begin." Dr. Welker said eagerly.

Darius' eyes glittered with anticipation. His 'special army' was nearly complete. He moved to the windows that looked down at the pens of well trained soldiers. By the time he was finished with them, they would be an unstoppable army with skills no one had ever seen before. With their new special abilities and more enhanced training, his army would be well qualified to insure his plans for taking over the world would succeed.

He turned back to Dr. Welker, "Good work! I'll be back day after tomorrow to see how the training goes." He glanced one last time into the pens then took his leave.

"Yes sir." The scientist said then turned back to his monitoring equipment. The next twelve hours would see how many survived the change to their DNA. He had already calculated that there would be at least a one percent death rate, which was acceptable.

Any more than that and Mobar would be unhappy because more subjects would have to be procured and a small delay would occur before training could begin. Staggered training schedules would not be practical with this type of army so they would have to wait until all were ready before training could begin.

Only tomorrow would tell whether there would be a delay or not. He could hardly wait. He glanced at the time piece on the wall...only an hour and half until the first transformations would occur...enough time for him to run some more simulations with the computer. Nearly bouncing with excitement, Welker made his way to his huge main frame computer and set it to run probabilities on the plans success based on the present parameters.

_Megakat City...next morning..._

Feral's personal assistant, Sergeant Fallon hurried down the hall to the second in command's office located on the fourth floor of the Enforcer Building. He knocked briefly then opened it without waiting for a response.

Lt. Commander Steele looked up with a frown on his face.

"What?"

"Sir, we've just received word from General Genser of the Sandeval Bay Confederation that Commander Feral, Colonel Torson and Major Linscom were kidnapped as they were leaving President Baynor's building at about eight o'clock last night. They searched all night with no luck. It's assumed that ring of kidnappers are at fault." He reported grimly.

Steele felt a thrill of fear race down his back. Feral made the first officer from MegaKat City to be snatched by this mysterious group. He might be next.

"Increase security, have all officers above the rank of colonel be alerted and have them plan on staying within Enforcer Headquarters until further notice. We've got to find out who is doing this. Have Major Fendler report to the Commander's office immediately." He spat out a string of orders. The Sergeant saluted smartly then left quickly to obey.

After Sergeant Fallon left, Steele quickly gathered his work and made his way to the Commander's Office. Major Fendler was head of the special black ops team and it was possible he might have some way to get a handle on this problem though he really didn't hold out much hope since many other military units around the world were still wrestling with it and none had found a solution or a hint as to who was behind the kidnappings.

By later that afternoon, the news had leaked to the radio stations. At the Megakat Military Salvage Yard, Chance was screwing down an engine into its new chassis when he heard a news commentator break into the music with an announcement.

"Crud! Jake, that kidnap group has snatched Feral!" He called out to his partner.

Jake came out of their tiny office and listened to the news. When the music came back on, he turned the radio off.

"This is bad, buddy. Despite how we feel about the Commander, all these kidnappings are for some ulterior reason and now Feral is a part of it. I have a very bad feeling about this!" He said grimly.

"Yeah, me too. I don't think its any of our omegas doing this but I'll be damned if I know just who could be doing it and why!" The tabby said with a growl of frustration.

"I know! I've been doing some computer snooping and the only thing I've been able to come up with is someone, who knows how to cover their tracks well, has been raiding personal files and guess whose files they've been taking?" He asked.

"The ones being kidnaped!" Chance said flatly.

"Bingo!"

"Were you able to tell what kind of information they were taking?" His partner asked curiously.

"Yeah, that's the strange thing. Whoever they are wanted the medical reports and military training records of the victims and nothing else." Jake said gravely.

"That doesn't sound good at all." Chance said, shaking his head and wiping his paws off. "But right now, I don't know what we can do about it!"

"Yeah, I know. But I hate the thought of just sitting around waiting for whatever is going to happen does." Jake said in frustration.

"You and me both. But there's really no alternative." The tabby snorted then sighed. "Well we have enough work to keep our minds off it for now."

"Huh! That's for certain. I'll be out to help you as soon as I finish that pile of invoices, buddy." Jake said with a sigh as he turned back into the office.

"Right."

_In a hidden laboratory...nearly dawn..._

For the rest of the night, Feral, using the hand language of the special forces, 'spoke' with his fellow prisoner's on either side of him. Much to his disappointment, they knew nothing more than he did as to why they were there and who had kidnapped them. It was a very depressing state of affairs.

They weren't fed and no one visited them the whole time. The lights dimmed a bit and stayed that way, probably signifying night, and it was silent except for the constant dripping of the water in the basin.

Sighing tiredly, partly from the drug used to bring them here and partly from boredom each of the prisoners began to lay down to sleep and conserve whatever energy they could. Their one thought...escape!

Feral had been asleep for a few hours when he awakened to sharp and insistent pain over his entire body. He sat up quickly as white hot pain shot through him. It felt like something was trying to push its way out of him. He screamed in agony as his bones began to break and reshape before his horrified eyes. As the pain soared beyond tolerance, blood roaring in his ears, his mind was being pushed out of the way for something far more primitive.


	3. Chapter 2: Training Animal Style, Pt I

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 2:** Training - Animal Style, Part I

Feral didn't know how long he had been out of it. The pain was gone but he still felt strange. His body felt heavier, bigger somehow. Before he could really get his wits about him, a movement outside his cell caught his attention.

A kat dressed in a lab coat, dark pants and sensible shoes was pushing a cart fairly groaning with raw meat.

Feral felt a growl of hunger erupt from him. For a second he was shocked. That growl sounded deeper and more powerful than any he should have been able to make and why would he be hungry for raw meat?

Something within him though knew exactly what it wanted and it pushed Feral onto his feet and to the door of the cell in one leap. A huge paw reached out and shoved demandingly at the door while a constant rumble issued from his throat.

Feral was appalled. It was like he was two personalities, one intelligent and one primitive. It was the primitive side that was demanding to be fed but the intellectual side was desperately trying to understand what was happening to him.

Those huge feet couldn't possibly belong to him! Those noises couldn't be from him!

The kat in the lab coat had a look of bland indifference as he stopped at each cell and shoved a tray of bloody meat through a flat, narrow opening he had unlatched at the bottom of the door and flipped up. He shoved the tray in then relatched the opening and moved on.

The primitive mind within him lunged for the food and began to devour it. The taste of the bloody meat was incredible and he lost himself in the pleasure it gave him. All too soon the food was gone and he was lapping up the blood with his tongue before moving away to the basin of dripping water. His huge tongue lapped at the water until he was sated. He moved to the padded surface of the floor and began to groom himself.

It wasn't until he had thoroughly washed the blood from his fur that he finally managed to wrench himself away from the primitive mind. His head hung in shock and dismay. For long minutes he couldn't do anything but try to deny what his senses and eyes were telling him.

Finally, he shook himself and looked up and to the side. In the cell of the female there now stood a silver and black four footed primitive tiger. He gaped in horror. The eyes that met his were crystal blue and the same horror shone from them. They stared at each other unable to look away. For one fleeting moment, he wanted to scream and run around the room in a fit of fury at what had been done to him. He had no doubt now that he too had been altered though he wasn't certain into what form.

Grabbing hold of himself firmly, stilling the panic, he looked beyond the female and saw instead of kats other primitive creatures. Bears, wolves, cheetahs, lions, panthers... shaking he turned to look the other way...Colonel Torson was a bear...beyond him he saw hyenas, coyotes, leopards.

The horror of their situation was hitting all of them in different ways. Some stood in stricken horror like himself and the two on either side of him while others were running wildly and roaring, though he couldn't hear them, slamming themselves against the cell walls. He winced and drew his glance back to the Colonel who looked at him in stunned disbelief.

Why was this done to them? What did these people want with them?

In the observation room above the cells, Dr. Welker was taking inventory of the newly altered subjects. He was humming happily to himself when his comm signaled for his attention.

"Yes?"

"So how many of our subjects survived?" Came the voice of the project leader.

"We only lost six of the hundred, sir. Your choices were excellent. We have a very good selection of species for your plan. A great success so far." Welker said happily.

"Excellent! How are the adjustments going?"

"Well, there are several over excitable reactions and I may have to trank them if they don't calm soon but overall, it's going as expected." Welker said as he watched some of the more frantic subjects with a frown.

"Perfect. I'm sure you'll be able to soothe the more 'upset' of our subjects enough for the training to begin tomorrow. Excellent work, doctor. See you tomorrow." Darius said in a pleased voice.

"Thank you, sir. See you tomorrow." Welker said as the connection was broken. 'Hmm, that bear and several of the felines seem really out of it.' He thought to himself. He reached for the comm again. "Davis!"

"Yes sir!" Came the quick response.

"I want you to trank subjects, fourteen, twenty-four, thirty, thirty-one and two, forty-five, and sixty-one. Give them only enough to put them under for about an hour." Welker ordered. "Also, have the deceased subjects removed immediately." He added as an afterthought.

"Yes sir!"

Welker studied the other subjects for another hour and was satisfied that no more would need tranking. 'Yes! The selection had been very well done. This was a better situation than the recent projections I ran last night on the computer.' He thought in pleased excitement.

Down below in the cells, Feral couldn't bear to look at all the altered kats any longer so he turned his back on them and went back to the padded part of his cell and faced the back wall, laying down. He placed his head down onto his paws and closed his eyes. He shivered miserably, not ashamed to admit that he was utterly terrified.

Too badly shakened to deal with it right now he allowed himself to blank out. When he came to himself, he had no idea how long he'd been 'gone'. He stared blankly at the bare wall in front of him then dropped his eyes to his feet. He noted idly that his feet were dark brown, large, and, as he extended them, had very long claws. He turned his foot over and stared at the thick pads with tufts of fur between them.

'So I'm some kind of feline,' He thought dully. He wasn't certain he wanted to really see what he looked like. He looked toward the female again. She was laying down facing the wall just like he was. She had her paws over her head as if she could hide from herself.

He really couldn't blame her. He turned to look at the Colonel. The huge black and grey bear was leaning his back against the cell wall and staring blankly forward. Staring down the cell block, he could see all the others in various states of stupor. He wouldn't be surprised if some of them went completely mad.

Shuddering, he was close to that himself. If only something would happen! This sitting and waiting was maddening. Everyone was soo shaken, it didn't look like they would be able to aid in their own escape.

'Escape! Right, who would want to escape when you looked like this? How could we return home?' He thought in despair. Unable to deal with it any longer. He closed his eyes and let his mind go once more.

Some hours later, dinner was delivered the same way as breakfast had been. He didn't fight his primitive side, it wasn't worth the effort, as he stuffed himself once more. Then went back to sleep that being the only place he could escape the nightmare of his waking world.

Morning was a rude awakening. No food had been brought and his primitive side was angry and hungry. Down the walkway in front of the cells marched metallic looking kats. As they marched down the cell block, one would stop and stand before a cell. Soon every cell with a subject had a metallic kat standing before it.

Every subject stepped back uneasily. Muted roars, screeches, weird yips, and other sounds greeted the metal strangers. As one the robots entered the cells.

Feral eyed the thing in trepidation. His primitive side however took more direct action. It leaped at the robot and was promptly slapped back against the cell wall. It got up again and attacked and sent flying once again to smack the wall. Feral yanked on the primitive mind and forced it to stand still and wait. It whined in his mind making him wince. This was just too weird.

Seeing that Feral wasn't going to attack, the robot pulled something out of a compartment in its leg. It looked like a cattle prod.

"You are going to be trained to obey commands quickly and immediately." It said in a flat metallic voice. "First command, come here and sit!" It ordered.

Feral refused and watched it warily. Quick as lightning the robot moved to his side and touched him with the metal pole. A painful jolt made him yelp. The robot returned to its original position and barked, "Come here and sit!"

Having no doubt the thing would not hesitate to shock him again, Feral quickly obeyed.

Over the next three hours, Feral was ordered to sit, lay down, roar on command, roll over, stand on his hind feet and run in a circle in the cell. He couldn't for the life of him understand why he was being ordered to do this. But if he hesitated or didn't do the action the right way or fast enough the robot would shock him.

Exhausted and tired, he panted and waited for the next command. He was stunned when the back wall to his cell opened suddenly, revealing a beautiful landscape. A grassy field was just ahead of them with the start of a strange looking obstacle course, there was a lake, a hill of sand, wood posts in the ground in some kind of pattern and cliffs that led somewhere they couldn't see from where they stood. Further away was a forest. Surrounding all this was a high cement wall of some eight feet.

The robot ordered him to get some water then told him to go outside. He padded forwarded warily. All the others were coming out of their cells too, followed closely by their robot task masters.

They were ordered to line up and be silent. When they had done so, a voice boomed from hidden speakers.

"Welcome to the first day of your new lives. You will undergo the harshest training devised to hone your new bodies into the perfect fighting machines and assassins. You are the new army that is going to provide peace to the rest of the world. You will be pushed to your limits and beyond. If you thought the transformation of your bodies were painful you don't know what pain is. By the time you finish here you will be able to ignore pain and injury and still continue your mission. If you think you can escape, think again. You are miles from home, this place is guarded by robots that can move faster than you and see in the dark. You are in your cells when you are not in training. When you are on a mission you will be implanted with a killing device that will take your life and the lives of all those around you so that even if you want to betray the mission, it will still succeed because your own death will cause it. You are mine and you might as well get use to it. Let the training begin!" The voice commanded.

The robots immediately prodded their charges toward the obstacle course. Feral had been through an obstacle course when he went through the Enforcer Academy, of course, but this wasn't like anything he'd seen before because it was geared for an animals four-footed capabilities and not a two footed biped.

The first obstacle was a ramp that lead to a two foot wide beam some thirty feet from the ground extending for about twenty-five feet ending on the other side with a steep incline that had evenly spaced wood slats that required concentration to navigate for a heavy animal and they were expected to move quickly.

The next obstacle was a lake of water some fifty feet across that they must swim then scramble up a steep embankment of mud. Once over that they had to run at top speed through a stand of posts in a weaving pattern. Failure to go through it properly required one to start over again.

After the posts was a forty foot high mountain of sand they had to race over then run across a field to a cliff that they had to leap some ten feet to get to the opposite side without falling some fifteen feet to the river below. Once on the other side they had to run again to the starting point.

The robot taskmasters gave the command to run. At first everyone sort of looked around and hesitated. In short order, the robots began shocking them. Soon a rush of bodies were headed for the first of the obstacles.

Feral managed to be in the first group of some ten animals to reach the tower like structure. He found it easy to run up the ramp but navigating the narrow bridge was another thing. His feet were huge and he wasn't so certain of his center of gravity since he was on four feet instead of two and was much heavier. Still he managed to mince his way across though not as fast as his task master wanted. He was hit with the shock wand when he was in the center of the span. The robot apparently could telescope their arms as far as needed to strike them.

Feral froze in terror for a moment, clinging to the beam with his claws as his body shook from the jolt. Swallowing and seeing the robot intended to hit him again he scurried as fast as he dared, keeping his body so low his belly brushed the beam as he got to the other side.

On the down ramp he instinctively wanted to go down backwards but was immediately corrected and ordered to go down face first. He dug his claws in as he felt his body push him down hard, nearly sending him ass over head to the ground but finally he made it down only to be jolted into a run.

He hit the water at a run, leaping far out into the lake before hitting it hard. He sank immediately and panicked. His primitive side took over and sent him into an ungainly swimming pattern, unfortunately, it was taking its time across the water and the robot who was swimming beside him, to his surprise, smacked his butt. Feral quickly took back his control of his body and swam as fast as he could.

He was heaving for air by the time he reached the muddy bank on the opposite side. The other ten prisoners in his group were still with him as they slipped and slid trying desperately to get any kind of purchase on the muddy slope to get up. Many roared in frustration then pain as they were shocked. A bear, which looked like Torson, leaped up with seeming ease and vanished over the top.

Feral growled at that as he was not having much luck getting up despite the shocks he was getting. Finally on his fourth slip down the bank, he paused a moment then gathered his legs beneath him and launched himself high enough to grab the grassy top of the embankment, pulling himself up. He was given no time to catch his breath, though, as he was prodded onward toward the posts.

He did the pattern perfectly though the hyena behind him had a little more problem with it and his weird yip of anger and pain goaded Feral to pick up his pace.

By now he couldn't really feel his body. It was cold, covered in mud and shaking in exhaustion and hunger. As he ran for the hill of sand, his lungs felt as if they were on fire. The sand hill was more daunting than the mud had been. Every time he leaped to get to the top he would fall short and slide back down, receiving a shock for his failure.

In his mind he had to remind himself that he wasn't a quitter. Ignore the pain and exhaustion and look ahead to the finish line. Don't think about the nightmare he was in. It would gain him nothing to dwell on it. He had to escape this place. He kept that firmly in his mind as he forced himself to continue on.

With another monumental heave of his powerful back legs he finally leaped high enough to reach the top but his momentum was such that his feet slid out from under him and he went flying down the bank of sand in a painful rolling ball of fur. He ended up in a heap at the bottom but wasn't given a moment to catch his breath before a jolt sent him staggering to his feet and running jerkily to the last obstacle.

He knew he had to build up his speed if he wanted to clear the small chasm to the other side. A coyote sped by him followed by a cheetah that raced ahead of them all. He heard the heavy panting of several others behind him. When he reached the cliff he couldn't take time to do more than catch a glimpse of his target before he was sailing over and hitting hard on the other side.

He felt giddy that he had made it this far as he stretched his legs and ran the last of the distance to the finish line. He wanted to drop as soon as he past the posts that marked the end but his task master had other ideas. Just as he began to slow and ease his body before resting completely the robot barked at him.

"No rest yet...go to the lake and wash!" It ordered, touching the prod to his hindquarters to encourage him to hurry.

Giving the thing a dirty look, Feral wearily trotted with the others that had finished to the lake. He stepped in only far enough to wash the mud off him then walked out and shook out the water. What he wouldn't give for a hot shower and dryer about now.

The weary animals were herded back to their cells and sealed in. Only thirty minutes after they were returned, food was delivered. He was nearly too tired to eat but knew he would need it for the days to come. He drank down a lot of water then moved to the padded floor and flopped down in utter exhaustion. Everything hurt but despite that he managed to fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 3: Training Animal Style, Pt II

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 3:** Training - Animal Style, Part II

Nightmares kept him from getting all the sleep he desperately needed so he woke quicker than the others when a loud buzz filled his cell. He saw the robot task masters stopping at each cell awaiting entry. When the door slid open, it stepped in, placed a tray of raw meat on the floor and stepped back.

"You have five minutes to eat, take care of your biological needs, drink plenty of water, then run to the obstacle course as soon as the door outside is open. Begin!" It ordered.

There was no point in arguing or refusing so he wolfed down his food, used the facility, then drank as much water as he could hold. He made it just before the door opened. He stepped outside and saw some still too sleepy to move and others running hell bent for the course.

He took off running. It still felt strange running along on four feet and weighing so much more than he was used to. But this new body surprised him at how fast it could go, how high it's strong legs could jump, and how much punishment he could take before exhaustion set in.

He figured he was a tiger, by the looks of his body when he looked over his shoulder and, of course, the size of his feet. He noted that he was the same color he'd been as a Kat but now had black stripes everywhere.

He did better than yesterday but his task master apparently didn't think so because he was shocked no less than twenty times over the course and made to do the whole thing again two more times. He could barely eat his dinner before sleep crashed over him.

The next morning came even earlier and the same routine was followed. For the next four days it never varied. They did become quite proficient and fast completing the obstacle course in less than ten minutes from the original forty.

Feral was surprised when they were given a complete day off. He wasn't surprised to note that everyone used it to sleep.

The next day started off with the task masters taking their trainees one at a time into a strange looking chamber. When it was Feral's turn, he was frightened to death. The scent of fear, urine, and pain filled the air in the chamber. The smell hit him hard and he froze outside the door. He couldn't budge.

His robot handler applied a strong jolt and he leaped roaring into the stark white chamber. The door hissed shut behind him. Howling in terror, he reared up and tore at the smooth surface. He wildly attacked the walls in the chamber. When he was panting and trembling, Feral was able to rein in his primitive side and force it to stand still and wait. His body trembled in anxious fear, his eyes huge with tightly held terror.

"Excellent control number forty-seven. Now that your mind is in active control of your body once more we will begin the next phase of your training." Came a strange tenor voice.

Feral really didn't like the sound of that.

"Now, the form you are in is only one of three you are capable of altering into. This one is called the primitive state, the next one we are going to make you change to, will be your war form. The last form will be your original Kat form." The voice explained.

Shock thrummed through him. He could take three different forms? And one of them was his normal one? He wanted his original form now but obviously that wasn't going to happen until he finished with the next one. He really didn't want to think what that was going to be like.

"What I require you to do is concentrate hard on changing your shape. You don't have to think about what you'll look like only on the change itself. Focus all your thoughts on changing. You'll not be released until you succeed. Begin!" the voice ordered.

Feral blinked in surprise. Concentrate? That didn't really make sense to him. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that all he had to do was concentrate on changing his body for it to do it, after all, he had wished with all his might to be normal again and nothing had happened. Why did this guy think anything was different now? Confused he just stood there.

Suddenly, a shock far stronger than the guards prods struck him. He wailed in pain. For several agonizing minutes he stood there shaking in pain.

"You will continue to receive punishment for failing to try until you succeed." The voice said coldly.

Swallowing convulsively, Feral panted but he did his best to do as asked. He focused everything he had on trying to change his shape. When his attention was completely centered on trying to change a strange tingling energy struck his body. It didn't shut off and there was no escape as it increased in strength.

It was unpleasant and distracting but soon it became a constant blanket of stinging pain that just kept getting stronger and stronger. He moaned then wailed as he struggled to do as he had been commanded.

Suddenly his body began to twist and bones shifted. He howled in agony as his body changed its shape. After what seemed like forever, the stinging energy ceased and his exhausted body collapsed to the floor. Consciousness left him.

When he woke some time later, he found he was back in his cell. He lay still while he tried to figure out what had happened to him. His body felt different yet again. Slowly he brought a paw to his face and was shocked to see a long arm, fingers with retractable and very long claws. Raising his head carefully, he looked down at his body. It was like his original body except much longer and furrier. His head felt heavy.

He used his new fingers to trace his features. His face was much longer, a muzzle instead of a Kat's mouth, very long whiskers, extremely long fangs, bigger ears. What he could imagine he looked like was a cross between a tiger's face and body of a Kat that was exaggerated. He really wished he could see himself. But since he couldn't, he did the next best thing, study his neighbors.

The female looked just like a tiger who now stood on two feet instead of four and much lighter in weight because of the shift to an upright form. This was most likely what he looked like as well.

He looked the other way and saw Colonel Torson looked basically the same as before except his features were more defined and his body leaner than the heavier four-footed bear had been.

He turned away from them both and sat up. The nightmare just kept getting worse. He had no doubt that they would now be required to do the obstacle course like this now. God how much he wanted to get out of here but he needed to stay until he could change to his normal form. He suspected he wouldn't be able to just concentrate and do it just yet. But as soon as he could, he was out of here.

The next morning, the robot task master appeared and entered his cell. It carried a tray of raw meat again but this time there was a huge glass of milk.

Feral blinked at it stupidly for a moment.

"Eat your food quickly. You are expected on the course in five minutes." The robot said.

Shaking himself, Feral set to eating. It felt strange to be picking up the food now though it was still raw. But drinking the milk presented a new problem. His new face was too unfamiliar so it was hard to actually put the glass to his mouth. He sort of had to pour it in. Done he washed, used the facility, being able to sit finally, then drank some water. His tongue was still very long so he lapped it up.

The door at the back opened and he stepped out. The sky was overcast as he walked to the course. He felt strangely awkward and gangly. He noted that the others seemed to have the same problem. Several of them decided to drop to all fours and were shocked for doing it. Feral had kinda thought to do that as well and was glad now that he hadn't given in to the desire.

He discovered he could lope along if he didn't try to think too hard about how odd it felt. When he reached the ramp, he discovered his first difficulty in his new form. When on four legs, scrambling up the ramp was fairly easy but now on two legs he found the long ramp was hard to navigate without using your fingers.

Not sure they would get shocked for doing it, several of the others kept trying to run up the ramp without dropping to all fours but were having an impossible time of it. So far no one had gotten up the ramp.

Taking a chance on being shocked, Feral moved just as if he was in his normal Kat form and ran up the ramp using his fingers to grip the raised parts of it to pull himself up. He got no shock and hurriedly made for the beam. Not thinking about how far it was to the ground he ran across the beam quickly and turned around and basically slid down the other side. Again without getting shocked.

He ran in that strange loping way and made for the lake. Now swimming was easier and he went to it with ease. Others were finally catching up to him and were nearly catching him as he crossed the lake for the wall of mud.

Here it wasn't as bad as when he was four-footed. His height was greater so with one leap he nearly made the top but slid down and ended up plowing into a cheetah and wolf that had been on his tail.

A snarling wrangle nearly started but Feral snapped out a command to stop it and was shocked as were the two he was tangled with. They could talk! It was growly and deeper than his normal one but it was a voice. Before they could say anything else to each other, their task masters shocked them all.

With yelps and curses, they tried to climb again. Feral leaped once more and this time managed to snatch at the grass at the top with his claws. Frantically pulling himself up, he was off again.

He easily did the post maze then ran as fast as he could to race up the hill of sand. At the top his center of gravity being different meant he sank into the sand easier and that meant either turning into a rolling ball face first down the hill or planting his feet properly and 'stepping' down it at an angle. He opted for the latter and moved as fast as he could without toppling down the hill.

He might have made it too if a coyote hadn't miscalculated and plowed into him sending them both rolling down the hill. He cursed the dunce soundly but didn't pause too long before getting up and racing for the chasm.

He ran quickly and leaped forward. He nearly miscalculated himself this time. Only his claws and an overhanging branch saved him from dropping into the water below.

Panting hard, he swung to the land and crouched a second as the coyote came abreast him and snapped, "not so smart this time, huh!" before racing on. Snarling but not saying anything Feral leaped up and ran for the finish line.

When he walked to the lake to wash, his robot task master came up to his side. Only then did he realize that he'd only been shocked twice the whole course.

"You did very well your first time. Completed the course in twenty minutes. You will be expected to do it in ten by the end of four days. Go to your cell." It ordered.

Feral sighed but did as commanded. A meal was waiting and he ate it ravenously then stretched out and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 4: Training Animal Style, Pt III

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 4:** Training - Animal Style, Part III

As promised, they were forced to run the course faster and faster over the next four days. Even though they could speak again, they were never given the opportunity. The robot task masters stayed very close and shocked anyone who attempted to speak to the others.

They were again given a day to rest. Feral dared to hope that this time they would force him to take his original form. He didn't know what would happen if he finally was back to normal but right now all he cared about was that he would be normal again...sort of.

Just as before, he was escorted down the hall to the white chamber. It still scared him witless but he stepped in without hesitation this time. The door hissed shut.

"You have done an excellent job number forty-seven. You are going to be rewarded." The voice had a strange smirk in it. "Just stand still and wait." The voice ordered.

Feral had a really bad feeling about this.

That same strange tingling feeling happened. He tried to grit his teeth and let it happen but it was like fire ants were crawling through his fur. The tingling got worse and he found himself shuddering in pain then his body began to change once more. He howled as bones shifted again.

He woke in his cell once more. To his shock, his body felt heavy again. He quickly turned his head which was bigger and he saw his huge four-footed body once more. He roared in anger. He glared at the cell with the female but she wasn't there. He turned to look in the Colonel's cell and was infuriated to see the Colonel still in his upright form looking at him with pity and fear.

He was so angry that he leaped at his task master when it entered his cell. The robot merely flung him off sending him flying toward the opposite wall. He prepared to leap again when the wall opened behind him. Blinking in surprise he froze and just stared.

"You are to go out and enjoy yourself. Run the area and hunt if you wish. You are not required to return until dusk." It said.

Feral turned sharply to gape at the robot in shock. 'What?' Was all he could think of, unable to grasp why he was being allowed to 'run' freely. What was the catch?

The robot further shocked him by leaving the cell with the door behind Feral still open. He looked at the Colonel. The bear stared at him in confusion then looked at the open door and back at him again. He obviously didn't know what was going on either.

Still uncertain if this was a trick or not, Feral approached the door cautiously and looked out. Everything looked the same as it always did. The obstacle course was just ahead but there was no one else out there. Nervous, he remained just inside the door for some minutes but when nothing seemed to happen, he decided to take a chance. Who knows, he might find a way out of here.

Making his decision, he walked out carefully. His senses were on full alert as he looked around. Moving slowly, he stayed close to the wall and walked into the brush at the end of the building. The forest beckoned beyond so he headed that way.

None of them had been allowed that way so he figured he might as well see why. He picked up his pace and began to run until he reached the line of trees. Here he slowed down to a walk and sniffed the air. Birds sang above him and he heard the sound of small animals in the brush.

He realized they hadn't fed him this morning when his stomach growled at him. Moving slowly he caught the scent of a rabbit and began stalking it. His primitive side took over and very soon had caught a fat brown rabbit and was ripping the fur from it daintily then eating bones and all in one quick gulp. Still hungry he prowled further in the forest for more to eat.

A couple of hours later he had eaten his fill of small creatures and a feral piglet he had been lucky enough to separate from its mother. Comfortably full, he headed toward the scent of water. It was away from the lake. He found a small waterfall falling into a small pool that fed a creek that ran further into the forest. He paused to get a drink and to rinse himself off.

As he crawled out and lay on the bank to rest, a new scent struck his nose. He snorted in shocked surprise. It was the odor of a female in heat. His heart slammed in his chest as he realized now what the smirk had meant in that voice. He was being used to breed. Anger flared up and he roared in fury. 'How dare they?' He thought.

An answering roar came from his left. He realized it was the female. He had to stay away from her. His primitive side snarled angrily at him. It wanted to go to her. His anger was strong enough to over rule it and he got up and fled from her scent. He came out to the meadow again. He paused trying to think what he should do now. He really didn't want to go back to his cell again but he definitely didn't want to be a part of their breeding program either.

He suddenly had an idea. He raced across the meadow until he reached the ramp of the first task of the obstacle course. He quickly scrambled up until he was on top. He stretched out along the beam and stayed there. More than an hour later the female tiger appeared from the forest. He realized it was the female from the cell next to his.

That explained where she had gone. Since they couldn't talk, he couldn't tell her this was a trap...a really nasty one at that. So all he could do was watch her. She was looking around and sniffing the ground. He realized she was picking up his scent and it would soon lead straight to him. He grumbled to himself at that but didn't move off the beam.

She gave a distinctive moan of a female in heat. He gritted his teeth together and forced his primitive side to stay down. She laid down on his scent trail and rolled in it. He found himself panting and hard. He could smell the strong odor of rutting pheromones emitting from him now.

In his mind though he fought a futile battle to control his instincts. He didn't want to do this. Especially since he had a very good idea what would happen to the kittens. It made him sick inside. The female groaned and huffed then made that lowing sound in her throat that nearly made Feral leap from the beam to get at her.

Suddenly she raced across the meadow and was soon standing beneath him and looking up. She roared at him then laid down and rolled again and again. Her strong scent of heat wafted up to him on his perch. He groaned aloud and his claws dug into the beam hard.

She rolled back up to her feet, lowered her front to the ground and hiked her rear with tail over her back and moaned loudly. He lost the battle. In one swift move he was across the beam and down the other side in a second.

He ran around the end of the down ramp and up to her body, mounting her quickly and grabbing her scruff in his mouth. The mating was intense and furious. They came together hot and hard. He leaped off her and laid down while she rolled around and stretched. His mind was shoved aside as the primitive side mated several times with the female. By the time darkness had fallen they were both tired and sated.

While they were resting, two robot task masters came to them and urged them back to their cells. Feral immediately snarled and made to protect his mate. The robot merely shocked him. Feral still tried to fight back but the robot continued to hold him off.

Meanwhile the other robot didn't use the shock wand on the female who was also not very happy and was snarling and batting at her trainer. The robot made no attempt to hold her off so that when she reared up to knock it over, it sprayed her in the face. Instantly, she slumped to the ground unconscious. It lifted her into its arms and carried her back to the building.

Feral was furious but before he could chase after the other robot, his own rapped him on the head making him reel. By the time his senses cleared, the female was gone. His head hurting, his body tired and stinging from the jolts the robot was using to herd him, he finally went back to his cell.

He didn't have the strength to do more than stretch out and collapse into asleep.

The next morning he was being escorted back to the chamber. He growled in anger as he climbed into it and the door hissed shut.

"What's the matter number forty-seven? Didn't you enjoy your little 'outing'?" The voice asked, snickering.

Furious, Feral roared and leaped at the wall in futile anger.

"Tsk, tsk...such a temper you have. Doesn't matter, you did your 'job' very well. The female has bred and the kittens will further our leader's plans. As for you...it's time to change." The voice said mildly.

The same tingling, stinging, force pressed at him and the same bones breaking pain poured through him. He was glad when consciousness left him.

Hours later he woke. His head felt light, his senses dazed. Blurrily, he stared over at the Colonel's cell and was stunned to see him in his original form. He wore a plain blue coverall and stared at Feral in sympathy.

Feral quickly looked down at himself and found he too was back in his original form. A similar coverall lay nearby. He dressed himself for the first time in a month. Getting to his feet he looked past the Colonel and saw his fellow military members were also normal and dressed.

He was afraid to look into her cell but finally turned and saw her sitting curled up in a corner. She was dressed but her posture showed her distress. He could only guess that she had been told what had happened to her and that she was pregnant.

She seemed to sense she was being stared at and lifted her head. Tears glistened on her cheek fur as she looked at him.

He swallowed and felt sick. He'd failed to prevent what had happened. It didn't matter that he had no choice. She must have seen the anguish on his face and realized in that moment just who she had been with. To his amazement, she didn't look at him with hatred only sad understanding and resignation. That somehow didn't make him feel any better as he turned his face away in shame.

Suddenly the silence was broken by that same voice they had heard their first day on the training field.

"My soldiers for peace, you have pleased me greatly. You've trained well. Now the next step is for you to be able to change your form at will without the need of our little chamber. Your bodies have been taught how to behave in each form so now it's up to you to alter to each form during your next bout of training. Your task masters will 'coax' you to make each change as rapidly as you can as you go through the obstacle course. I know you will make me proud." The voice clicked off.

The voice from the chamber spoke next. "Alright trainees! You will have today to work at changing your form. The task masters will only punish if you don't try at all. I expect by the end of the day, you should be able to switch to each form easily and quickly. Failure to do so will end in termination." He said chillingly.

Feral took a shuddering breath. He swore that when he got out of here he would personally kill the Kat behind that voice then the leader of this nightmare.

The next few hours were true hell. He was glad he couldn't hear everyone else though it would have been unlikely that he heard anything but his own screams. Each change was agony.

The first time he made the attempt, he went for his standing war form. He was dripping with sweat before he felt a tremor ripple through him then his bones began to stretch. He screamed as the change relentlessly went on to its conclusion.

He dropped to his knees, panting and moaning. When he could breathe easily again, he dragged himself over to the basin and drank then cupped the water with his huge paw and bathed his sweating face.

After he had rested for a while, he concentrated on his four-footed form. This time he passed out after the change finished. When he woke, he wasn't certain how much time had passed. He looked up at the clock above his cell door and realized it had been two hours since he'd changed to this form.

It was getting late, and he still had to return to his original form. Swallowing, he went and got some water then stood in the center of his cell and concentrated. The change wasn't nearly as bad and he didn't lose consciousness.

"Now that you have managed to alter to each form on your own, you must do them again more quickly. Your body will adjust and the change will become easier the more times you do it." The robot task master said.

Feral startled. He had not noticed the robot had returned. It stood there waiting with the patience only a machine could have and holding its shock stick at the ready.

Eyeing it with trepidation and hatred, Feral took several deep breaths and changed.

After two more hours, Feral found he could change with ease. No more pain occurred with the changes but he was extremely hungry.

The robot had left after his final change back to his normal Kat form and was dressing. It returned with an honest to goodness meal, heavy on the protein and a glass of milk beside it with a pitcher holding more.

He wasted no time digging in and wolfing it all down. Sighing in relief and satiation, he drained the last of the milk and made for his 'bed'. Sleep was fast in coming.

The next morning a loud buzzing woke the inmates. Nobody was slow in being alert and ready.

"Remove your clothing and prepare to start as soon as you have eaten." His task master said.

Stripping his coverall off, Feral sat cross-legged and ate his food quickly, drank some water and used the facility. As soon as the door opened he was off running.

As soon as he reached the first obstacle he was ordered to change to four-footed. He did quickly and ran up and over the ramp and beam heading for the lake at a dead run. His task master ordered him to take his war form.

By the time he'd completed the course he had been required to change four more times then told to go back through the course again changing his form on each part of the obstacle course. It was confusing. Many lost their footing as they tried to adjust from four to two legs, from heavy to light weight, from strong to barely managing in their normal form.

It got easier as they did it over and over again as the days passed. Finally it was over. When Feral woke the next morning, after five days of more training, his task master brought him breakfast and a uniform and shoes. As soon as he was dressed, he was instructed to stand at the front of his cell and wait. Puzzled, he stood waiting for some minutes with nothing happening. He glanced to the left and noted the Colonel was frowning and so was the female.

"Attention, you've passed your training with flying colors. Only five of your number failed. You who are left are the best of the best. Now you will leave this area and be brought to the mission center where you will be tagged and then briefed on your first mission. See you soon!" The voice of the leader said in obvious pleasure.

The doors to the cells opened and each prisoner with their task master was escorted down the long hall to the right. They were soon filing into a large room with a huge screen on one wall and a catwalk running near it. A group of Kats stood there watching them as they filed in and stood in ranks. No one made a sound. An old Kat stood forward from all the others and addressed them.

"Welcome my soldiers. Your mission is to take out the corrupt leaders of the world and their support staff. With the slate clean, I will step in and create order and bring about a world of peace with me as the benevolent leader. There will be no more wars, strife, crime, or hunger. This will be a world of peace and exploration. Once the world is no longer fighting itself, it can begin cleaning the environment and reaching out to the stars.

You my special army will help me achieve this dream. You will be outfitted with a special control device that will be inserted under the skin at the base of your skull. It will insure you obey your orders. You will be monitored at all times. If you try to refuse or try to warn your target, your device will be triggered to self destruct. There is a tiny bomb embedded in it. When it goes off all within a twenty foot radius, will be killed. So you see, you cannot refuse to do your duty. This is for Katkind's benefit. You will be rewarded for your work.

As of today, once your control devices have been inserted, you will be taken to your new quarters. You may mingle and talk with your fellow soldiers. It matters not if you are unhappy, wish to plot revenge, or escape. None of those things are possible and I will not waste my time punishing normal behavior. You are even permitted to wander the grounds if you wish. There is no escape from here. Now your task masters will take each of you to be fitted with your devices. Have a relaxing day because tomorrow you will be very busy."

'That's what you think!' Feral gritted mentally. He would prove this megalomaniac wrong. He would escape and he would stop this creep from his mad scheme.

_I know this part seems long but trust me its necessary to show what they have to go through before they are sent on their first missions. This story arc is done, on to the real action. Will Feral escape soon?...you'll have to read and see._


	6. Chapter 5: Escape

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 5:** Escape!

Each of them was herded through a laboratory where a Kat in a lab coat approached with a strange type of syringe. Feral eyed the Kat with hatred and a little fear. The Kat's expression was bland as he approached and waited. Feral was startled when his handler suddenly grabbed him.

It used one steel arm to pin his arms to his body and the other gripped his neck and pulled his head down. It held him firmly while the lab coated Kat came forward and pressed the syringe to the back of his neck. He felt a sharp sting then it was over. The robot released him.

Frowning angrily, Feral rubbed his sore neck. The robot pushed at him from behind indicating that he was to move. The others were also being pushed toward a set of double doors. They poured into a large room where they stared at each other nervously. While they milled around, they soon noticed that two to four of them were being herded away by their handlers through another door.

Feral watched as robots selected certain Kats and hustled them away. It was soon his turn. His handler took his arm and began to escort him away. By the time they reached the door two others had joined him. On the other side they were walked down a hall of doors. The robots walked past some seven doors before finally stopping at one, one of the handlers opened the door and the others shoved their charges in, the door closed behind them along with their handlers.

Inside the small room was a screen that was blank at the moment, a cold eyed Kat in a blue uniform stood watching them. Sitting at a computer was another smaller Kat also dressed in a blue uniform. There were three chairs.

"Take a seat. This is your mission briefing. I want your strict attention. Hold your questions until I'm through. Do not waste my time or yours with demands about your situation." The cold eyed Kat ordered them.

With grim faces, the three prisoners sat down. An image of a vaguely familiar country flashed up onto the screen.

"This is the Tymurr Federation. It's a newly industrialized country. Its main sin is uncontrolled pollution to the environment. Your mission is an easy milk run. This is to see how well your training has been and whether you can follow orders. You are to blow up two refineries and a waste management center. You will be given a thorough briefing on your gear when you leave here. After that, you'll be outfitted then taken to the airport for your flight there. Do not forget that you are monitored at all times and can be killed at a distance if you fail to accomplish your mission, try to escape, or try to warn the locals of your mission." The cold eyed Kat explained bluntly. He went on to give them the particulars of the mission and when he was done they were allowed to ask questions, which there were only a few.

Feral was surprised the briefer accompanied them as they were herded off to the staging area for their arsenal briefing and arming. When this had been accomplished and they were taken to a holding area to await their flight, Feral was further surprised when the cold-eyed Kat took him away from the others and, with his handler, marched to another room nearby.

"Stay here!" The Kat ordered the robot making it remain outside the room. The robot amazingly enough obeyed.

"In here!" This was directed at Feral who was shoved none too gently into the small room. He looked around and frowned. It looked nothing more than a storeroom of some kind. Puzzled, he turned to the Kat that had brought him here.

"I haven't much time so listen carefully. You are the best there is and the most canny. I've been watching you and feel you are the one who has the best chance to save us all. I've read your history and you have an unusually lucky streak that has kept you alive under the most incredible dangers. I'm praying that luck holds out because all of Katkind is doomed if you don't succeed. Now hold still while I remove your implant." He ordered.

Feral gaped at the Kat in shocked surprise.

"Come on! I've been waiting this chance for months, don't blow it by being suspicious now!" The Kat hissed tightly. "Don't you want out of here?"

Feral stared at the Kat hard. He could feel the anger and nervous tension. If he was lying to him, it hardly mattered. It just couldn't get any worse. Daring to trust his life to this Kat, he turned around and stretched his neck.

There was a sigh of relief, then something cold was placed over the spot where the implant had been inserted. There was a sharp pain that made him gasp but he didn't move.

"There, done! Here!" the Kat handed Feral a small disk the size of a dime. "Don't lose this until you are free and clear. They will be monitoring you and you can't be free until you are actually in a place you can escape quickly. This will blow up as soon as you move out of the area planned for you so look around quickly and carefully before you toss it so as not to hurt anyone." The Kat quickly instructed. "Now we've got to go or someone will be suspicious. Act like I roughed you up a bit." He moved to the door.

Feral eyed the Kat a moment then moved to the door as well but he paused long enough to reach out and squeeze the other's bicep in comradeship then pretended he was recovering from being hit as the door was opened and he was shoved back out to his handler.

He was marched back to the others. They were given a meal to eat while they waited. An hour later, they were hustled to a waiting van and driven to the private air field. The others sat nervously, glancing at each other then looking away in shame and anger. None of them wanted to be doing this. It went against everything they believed in but they didn't have a choice.

Feral had slipped the monitoring device in his mouth and held it between his teeth and cheek. It tasted nasty but it was the only place he could put it and not lose it.

The flight took over three hours. The three were tense the whole time. When they landed, night had fallen. They were hustled to a waiting car then driven to within a mile of their destination and released. The car drove off rapidly back the way it had come. It would pick them up at a prearranged spot when they had completed their mission.

They each had a small pack that could be worn on their animal form and war form. They had been instructed to alter to war form to get to their destination quickly but not be seen by anyone.

"Let's get to it!" Feral ordered softly, taking the lead.

The others eyed him a moment but complied. They stripped their jumpsuits off and stuffed them into their backpacks. Each took a moment to alter their form. Feral had turned his back so that he could place the monitoring device in a small zippered area of the bag. When he was ready he would toss bag and all away.

Soon three creatures stood there. One a tiger, another a cheetah and the last a wolf. Using a compass, they shouldered their packs and took off at a run. In this form they could run fast and silently. In less than fifteen minutes they had reached the first of their targets.

Feral realized he couldn't just leave his team mates. They would suffer enough when he escaped so, though it made him angry to do it, he helped them set the charges on the two tanks and race away as the night sky lit with an awesome explosion. The fires could be seen for miles. Their next target was some three miles away, so they ran through a barren canyon out of sight of the arriving emergency crews. A half hour later they reached their next target.

Here Feral looked around hard to see where he could toss his bag. He sighed in relief to see the area was fairly barren so anywhere would do. Again, he assisted the other two to set the bomb then as they were running away, he tossed his bag as far as he could throw it behind them, then split from the others who were single-mindedly heading east toward the rendevous point. They hadn't noticed he wasn't with them as yet. He altered to animal form and ran for all he was worth at an oblique angle from where they were heading.

This was a more industrial area and at this time of night no one but guards and less unsavory characters were about. He ran hard and fast not stopping for several hours. It was just reaching midnight when he was forced to stop and rest. He found a dripping faucet to quench his thirst. He looked around cautiously before finding a huge stack of wooden and cardboard boxes behind a warehouse.

He climbed into one and got some much needed rest. He was awakened a couple of hours before dawn by a commotion nearby. A scuffle of some kind was going on. He peered out from his box. His sharp eyes caught a group of Kats beating another.

Slipping out of the box silently, he snuck up on them. When he was standing behind them, he unleashed a roar. The four Kats dropped the fifth and whirled as one. Screams of fear filled the air as they beheld a huge dark tiger with long fangs and sharp claws crouched there. They fled as fast as their feet could carry them. Their victim tried to do the same but had been too badly hurt so could only stare in horror as the tiger approached him.

Feral reached the terrified Kat and sniffed him then he altered to war form. He didn't want this Kat to identify him to the authorities but he did need information. The poor Kat's eyes widened in sheer fright at the transformation and fainted dead away.

Scowling in annoyance, Feral picked up the Kat and took him back to the crate he had taken refuge in. He looked the Kat over and discovered he suffered only bruises and a broken leg. He set the leg with scrap wood he found nearby and used the Kat's clothes to tie it on the leg then waited for the Kat to regain consciousness.

It was thirty minutes before he finally did. His eyes widened to still see the apparition he'd seen earlier but before he could scream, Feral slapped a huge paw over his mouth.

"Quiet! All I need is information. I think it only fair since I saved you from those other creeps earlier." Feral growled. "Now get a hold of yourself and I'll remove my paw."

The Kat shuddered but nodded he was okay. Feral cautiously removed his paw and waited.

"Who...who are you?" The Kat asked.

"No one you need to know! For your safety, I warn you not to tell anyone that you've even seen me. There are some really frightening people that could make you wish you never lived if you say anything. Now, I need to know what's the best way out of this town and how far I am from Megakat City." Feral demanded, dawn was fast approaching and he wanted to be away from here quickly.

The Kat blinked in surprise but answered. "You have to head west and the best route will be to stay along warehouse row until you reach the foot of the mountains that start at the edge of town. Climb up into the high range then head west. Megakat City is some eight hundred miles due west. There is a shorter way but I'm guessing ya want to stay out of view of anyone so that is your best route to do it. But it's a long ass way!"

Feral grunted at that. "Yeah, it certainly is but I really don't have a choice. Remember what I said. No word to anyone about me if you want to stay alive. And Thanks!" He said then took off at a fast run just as the day began to brighten.

When he was out of the Kat's view, he altered back to animal since he could travel faster and longer in that form. It was hard going, keeping himself from being spotted by the workers arriving for the day. He flitted from dark hiding place to another as fast as he was able.

It was getting close to noon when he finally came close to the edge of town. By this time he was starving. His nose caught the scent of food nearby. An unguarded lunch was resting on a docking platform. The worker's voices drifted to his ears from further inside the warehouse so he dared to slip up onto the dock, snatch the sandwich, and ghost away to hide under the dock in the dark to eat it quickly. It didn't really fill him but it did take the edge off until he could hunt.

Slipping out from under the docking area, he hustled away until he could race up a hill covered with scrub pines. His stripped body blended in with the scenery and very soon he was gone completely from the city and was high in the hills heading for the more mountainous region.

Here game began to make an appearance and he was able to fill his stomach with freshly caught rabbits. He followed a deer trail to a small pool of water where he stopped to clean himself, drink and rest. He refused to think about how far he had to go. His focus would be on getting home no matter how long it took.

It would be so much easier if he could only find a ride aboard a jet, but he had the strong suspicion that the one who had captured him was very wealthy and could well have spies everywhere since he seemed to be too well informed of the doings of the countries he was sending his assassins too. So there was no choice but to keep to the wilds and get home as fast as he possibly could. For the first time, he truly wished he could find a way to get the SWAT Kats attention. That jet of theirs could get him home so much faster.

With that last wishful thought, sleep tugged him under.


	7. Chapter 6: Fighting Back

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

Chapter 6: Fighting Back

While Feral had been incarcerated, many things had happened in the world. At least three more dictators had been assassinated joining Tuneria to make four countries falling into complete anarchy as the populace tried to cope without a government.

A circle of serious and worried faces sat at a large conference table in Megakat City Hall. Mayor Manx was there but it was Calico Briggs that was in charge of this special meeting of the more peaceful world leaders.

The chaos was spreading from the damaged countries and the kidnappings had been determined to be linked in some manner. This meeting was to discuss ways to contain the threat before it could spread to other lands.

"We requested you all to attend this special meeting to try and find some way to stop the spread of this mysterious plague of violence that is killing off despotic governments but leaving chaos in its wake as well as the environmental damages being done to other countries. I strongly suspect someone is behind this but we can't determine what purpose this person or entity has for doing this. Whatever it is we all must find a way to stop it! World markets are already feeling the pinch from this 'war' that was never declared." Callie said passionately.

"You are correct Ms. Briggs. No one is certain who will be next for assassination or what refinery, food production, or financial institution will be struck next. It's frightening only because we have no target to vent our anger against." The Khan of the Tymurr Federation said gravely.

"Most of the military officers had been taken from my country and Tamloren. Why were they taken? That's an important question. No ransom was asked for, no bodies have been found, and despite extensive investigation, no trace of them has been found." The President of Sandeval Bay Confederation said bitterly. "I believe your own Chief Enforcer was taken."

"Yes, you are correct. Our investigation hasn't turned up anything either on Commander Feral's whereabouts." Callie said unhappily.

"I propose we send out special operations squads made up of highly specialized soldiers from all our countries to all the hotspots and see if they can pick up an inkling of what is going on." The King of Asszeria suggested.

Everyone was silent for a moment thinking about the King's proposal.

"Well, it's no better or worse than anything we've all already tried on our own. I agree this might be a step in the right direction. At least its doing something rather than sitting and waiting for the spider to jump us." Callie agreed. "Does everyone here agree?" She asked.

All parties raised their paws. For the next few hours they developed a plan of attack for the teams to use, a communication center to collect the information they might find, and a task force to manage the whole operation.

Everyone agreed that Megakat City had the most experience with the bizarre and should be the operations center for the task force. Each leader would leave a high-level special ops officer to man the task force. For Megakat City it fell to Steele.

Steele had discovered quickly that running the enforcers during a major world crisis wasn't a walk in the park. He learned quickly that he'd been far too arrogant and self-centered. That attitude had to be the first thing dumped when the seriousness of what they faced hit him hard.

Using the common sense he had but never bothered to listen to, he quickly got a fast education from the older officers of the force. No longer being too arrogant to seek advice and assistance, he became an enforcer that could be relied on to handle what needed to be done. By the time the special meeting had been held he had sent special ops units out to the far reaches of Megakat City to listen for trouble.

When he was told the task force would be operating out of Megakat City, he was able to bring to the first operations meeting the data his special ops teams had been able to collect. It wasn't much but they had heard one thing that was consistent with all the attacks.

The old Steele would have thrown it out because it was too fantastic. The new Steele had learned nothing was to be dismissed and everything had to be taken seriously no matter how incredible it sounded.

Facing his peers from other countries around the strategy table, he presented the information he had been able to collect.

"As you can see, at every attack some kind of animal was at the scene. Some of the animals were on four feet, some on two. They move swiftly, are well armed, well trained, and capable of changing their shape at will. Though at no time did they appear as a Kat, the reports are far too consistent in their descriptions to be dismissed. Whoever our enemy is, they are using these animal soldiers to do their dirty work for them. " Steele said grimly.

"I have heard the same from my teams as well, Lt. Commander Steele. We also determined they must have great wealth at their command to be able to strike and escape so easily." Captain Harmon from Sandeval Bay Federation stated, corroborating Steele's information.

"Feels like we're living in one of those science fiction stories on TV." A gruff voice grunted unhappily.

"Yes, it certainly does but no matter how fantastic it sounds we are going to have to pursue these leads as best we can, SWAT Kat." Major Fliknor from the Tymurr Federation said.

The SWAT Kats had been added to the special task force due to their superior fire power and Razor's weapons skills. They were the ultimate in covert operators. No one argued the pair could come and go with ease and no one saw them unless they wanted them to which was an amazing feat considering their G-suits were so distinctive.

"We've learned that a special fleet of jets with a unique peace sign logo has been seen at all the sites of terrorism. All airports, especially the smaller ones have been notified to watch for this special jet and to notify us by a secure radio frequency. It was hoped we could get there fast enough to track the jet back home." Razor said tightly. "So far we've not been notified soon enough to get to the scene to do this. But now that this task force has been set up maybe notification will speed up."

"Well it's certainly worth a try. How do we contact you that will be fast enough?" Steele asked.

"I've made a special transmitter. It hides our location but allows us to receive your transmission on a set frequency which I'll give everyone here." Razor said as he handed out a piece of paper to each of the officers there. "Just holler for us the second one of you hears of that jet being seen and we'll be on it."

"Great! Meanwhile we'll continue to try and dig up all the info we can with our black ops teams. Let's hope we catch a break soon!" Steele said.

The meeting broke up after that. Everyone was tired. The next day would be busy as the teams left while the waiting for information began for the task force.

T-Bone flew home in a thoughtful mood. It had been strange actually working with that little twerp Steele. The snotnosed green enforcer had turned into a grim faced force to be reckoned with. He was surprised to think that Steele would probably make a better Chief Enforcer than Feral. What a strange thought.

He pressed the button on his dash to open the hangar door and guided the Turbokat smoothly down the hidden runway to a perfect stop on the turntable elevator. He sighed as the elevator moved them silently up to the hangar.

T-Bone popped the canopy and jumped down hearing the thump of his partner right beside him. Walking to their lockers, he yanked the door open and tossed his helmet in.

"I really hate this waiting game. Someone is doing this and somehow I know it's not one of our omegas. Damned if I can figure out what this guy's angle is." Chance growled as he pulled on his coveralls.

"I know. I'm just as tired of this game as you. I can't fathom what the ulterior motive is for this guy or group that's doing this either." Jake sighed as he headed for the ladder.

They moved upstairs to their apartment. The garage had been closed for the past month. It hurt their budget but it couldn't be helped. They needed to be on constant alert, not only for the call to chase those elusive jets but to keep the city safe while its leaders were preoccupied with the world crisis. It was actually a relief that the omegas had chosen to keep out of sight and silent.

Perhaps they were afraid of what was happening. None of their grand schemes to take over the city would mean anything if this threat could come in and take it away from them. At least that was what the defenders hoped. Whatever the reason, no omega had shown their faces for the past couple of months.

"It really feels weird not having Feral around. Wonder what has happened to him. Why did those guys take him and all those other military guys? It just doesn't make sense." Chance groused as he rummaged in the fridge finding cold pizza and milk to share with his partner.

They went to the living room and Chance flicked on the TV.

"Yeah, I've been racking my brain but I can't come up with a reason for taking them." Jake sighed as he began to eat and try to unwind.

Jake glanced at the TV and saw that some kind of werewolf movie was on. The scene was showing a Kat changing into a wolf. It was screaming as if in pain. He stared with his mouth open in shock for a moment.

"That's it!" He bellowed, startling Chance.

"Huh! What's it?" He asked in confusion.

"That!" Jake said excitedly pointing to the werewolf. "Those animals that could change their form. What if they were Kats and were altered to become four legged and that huge animal on two legs?" He asked his partner.

"What? Aren't you reaching a bit, buddy?" Chance said, looking at Jake in askance.

"No. It makes perfect sense and it's the only explanation for those animal's abilities and if you take that premise one step further and add in their military experience, skills with weapons and fighting abilities, I think we've found our missing military members." Jake said, a look of certainty on his face.

Chance gaped at him. He allowed his brain to try and follow Jake's logic. It was fantastic but this whole thing was that already, why not this to.

"Okay, say you're right! Why are they doing this? None of them were bad Kats." Chance objected.

"They have something over them, they were brainwashed, the alteration did something to their minds...pick one. Any of them could be the truth. We won't know until we can capture one of them." Jake said.

Chance sighed. "Okay, tomorrow morning we'd better tell the task force your theory. I'm sure they are going to be skeptical as well but what the hey, everything we've been fighting is a flat out science fiction show like I said before. Anyway, let's bag this for the night and get some sleep. I'm bushed." He said.

"Yeah, you're right, so am I." Jake agreed, yawning hugely as he got up from the couch and took his trash to the kitchen.

Chance shut off the TV and followed. Tomorrow was going to be strange.

Early the next morning, T-Bone landed the Turbokat on the Enforcer flight line. It felt really odd to be allowed to land and just walk into the building with no one being upset about it.

He and Razor headed for the auxiliary operations center that had been commandeered for the task force. It was located in the basement not far from the armory.

Walking in they nodded at the guard that was posted. He nodded back and allowed them entry. Inside Steele was already there with at least four of the other foreign officers.

"Hey Steele, Razor has a theory he wants to air. We'll wait until everyone's here." T-Bone said as he took a seat.

Steele eyed Razor quizzically but didn't question him, returning to his discussion with Major Flicknor.

Ten minutes later everyone had arrived and taken a seat.

"Alright Razor let's hear your theory." Steele said.

Razor explained what he figured out had happened to the military officers that had been kidnaped. When he'd finished, he got looks that ranged from disbelief, questioning his sanity, and a couple that were thinking hard about it.

It was the Warrior from the Tribal Kingdom of Mubatu that spoke up finally after a lengthy silence had filled the room.

"This is not as far fetched as you think. In the high mountains above our homeland, rumors of strange creatures came down by local tribesmen who wander in the wilderness a great deal. Most dismissed the rumors as fantasies but now, perhaps they were not." He said slowly.

"The mountains near your homeland? Is it possible that is where we might find this group of weirdos hiding out?" T-Bone said in rising excitement.

"It is a rumor only SWAT Kat but you are right, the possibility should not be dismissed out of paw. Perhaps we should send a team there to sniff around?" The warrior asked.

"It's the best possible lead we've had to date. I say we go for it." Steele said feeling they might be finally getting somewhere.

All the others agreed since they had no other suggestions. It didn't matter that it was really far fetched, it was more than they had at the moment. They spent the next few hours planning.


	8. Chapter 7: Home at Last

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 7:** Home at Last!

It took him more than eight days to finally make it home. He came down from the northern mountains just above the bay of Megakat City. He stopped on a ridge and stared at his home that he'd been away from for more than three months. He had been in tiger shape for nearly the whole trip only because it could handle the terrain, hunt, and protect itself better than his other forms. But he would be ever so grateful to be a Kat and wear clothes again.

Shaking himself he made his way down the mountain. He had a mission to perform and it was getting very late. There was no telling just how much damage that maniac had caused during the time it took him to get home.

T-Bone had been getting antsy from waiting about, so Razor felt a patrol would help calm him while the task force completed their plans.

They had finished the area near Pumadyne and were circling around to head toward the mountains above the bay not far from where Professor Hackle lived. As they passed over the Professor's lab/home, they cruised a little higher into the mountains.

As T-Bone began to reach the ridge line of the mountain range, Razor spotted something with his newly invented viewer. This device provided him with the ability to watch the ground they passed in real image rather than his scanner's signal echo.

"T-Bone go to hover quick!" He ordered as he changed the angle of his viewer. "Crud! It's a tiger!" He said in excitement.

"What! You think it might be one of those animal soldiers?" T-Bone asked.

"Could be! After all, we don't have tigers in this part of the world." Razor assured him.

"Right! Let's go hunt a tiger!" T-Bone said with a growl. He took the jet off hover and moved in the direction, Razor indicated.

Meanwhile down on the ground, the tiger had halted when it heard a familiar sound. Looking up he saw the Turbokat. His heart leaped. He couldn't believe he was so grateful to see those two vigilantes. He stayed where he was and watched as the jet left hover and moved deliberately toward him.

Moments later, he was positive they had seen him when they shot a missile which exploded a net over him. He remained still as it slapped down over him rather hard. He grunted but kept his feet and waited for the SWAT Kats to either raise him up or land.

"Huh! It didn't even try to move out of the way. I think you might be right about it, Razor." T-Bone said.

"Yeah! We'll see when we land and check him out." Razor said grimly.

"What? Why land, let's just take him back to enforcer headquarters?" His partner asked confused.

"No way. We don't know if he's carrying a bomb or is a bomb. No, we check him out here where no one can get hurt." Razor said firmly.

"Okay, you have a point." T-Bone conceded. He steered the jet to a field nearby the tiger and landed. He popped the canopy and they both jumped down and approached the tiger cautiously.

When they got close enough the tiger altered its form.

"Crud! Is that you Feral?" T-Bone blurted in shock.

"You don't know how glad I am to see you two hotshots. I need to get to Enforcer Headquarters asap." Feral said with a sigh of relief.

"Just a moment, Commander. Before we take you anywhere we have to be sure you're not a booby trap." Razor said sharply.

Feral blinked in surprise then realized the SWAT Kat was right. They couldn't take the chance that he could be so changed as to be a danger to his own city.

"I take it things have gotten really bad?" He asked quietly.

"You could say that." Razor said flatly.

"Okay, listen up then. I'll make this quick and brief." Feral said resigned to having to repeat his story many times very soon.

He gave them an abbreviated account of what had happened to him and all the other officers that had been kidnaped. When he finished, the SWAT Kats were staring at him with expressions of anger and pity.

"Man, that sucks, Feral. What you went through..." T-Bone tailed off, shaking his head in honest commiseration. He may hate the arrogant Chief Enforcer but he had to admire the fact he had succeeded in surviving such a horrific ordeal.

"Only question you haven't answered is how they forced you guys to do what he wanted." Razor said suspiciously.

Feral grimaced. "They implanted a bomb the size of a dime at the base of our skulls. If we deviated from our mission to try to escape, we'd be blown up taking care of the mission that way."

"Crud! How barbaric!" Razor snarled angrily. "So how did you manage to escape that fate?" T-Bone echoed that response and was just as anxious to hear Feral's answer.

"A traitor. He told me he had been waiting, pretending to be a willing participant, until someone like me came along. He removed my device and gave it to me. On my first mission, I had to help my two team mates complete it because I didn't want them to suffer, then I placed it in a pouch of my backpack that held my clothes and flung it toward the tanks we were destroying. No one suspected I wasn't blown up with it because my team mates were already hot footing it for our rendevous point and hadn't noticed I wasn't with them. It's taken me eight days to get here." Feral finished.

"Okay, that's good enough for me, what about you Razor?" T-Bone asked willing to believe Feral but trusting his partner's instincts more.

"Yeah, its enough for me too. Let's get back to headquarters fast. This changes everything." Razor said grimly.

They pulled the net off Feral and gathered it up then ran to the Turbokat. Razor gestured for Feral to climb down into the hold from his seat, then he dug out a plain G-suit of T-Bone's for Feral to put on.

"Be home in a few minutes, Commander." Razor assured him as he climbed back up to the weapons officer's seat.

Feral sighed and strapped himself in a jump seat. It felt good to be wearing clothes even if they were a bit too short and tight on him.

"Dispatch, this is the SWAT Kats, switch me to the task force asap." Razor told the enforcer dispatcher on his comm.

"Roger, SWAT Kat, switching." The dispatch acknowledged swiftly.

The next voice Razor heard was Steele.

"What's up Razor?" He barked.

"We've found a surprise that's going to change all our plans. Make sure everyone is present and have the Sergeant get a spare uniform from Feral's stuff. We'll be there in five minutes." Razor said briefly cutting the comm before Steele could ask any questions.

Steele stared at his radio in angry surprise. "What the heck could they have found?" He asked no one in particular.

"Let us hope it's something that will give us some answers." Major Flicknor said.

"Well we will know in a few minutes. Sergeant go do as Razor asked. Feral's uniforms are where he left them." Steele grunted, shaking his head.

"Yes sir!" The Sergeant snapped back briskly and raced from the room. No way did he want to miss what was going on.

T-Bone landed on the flight line some seven minutes later. Razor pulled out a tarp and had Feral cover up.

"We don't want anyone to know its you just yet, in case your captor has eyes around." He warned the Commander.

"Good idea!" Feral conceded as he pulled the tarp over himself. All he could see was the ground as the SWAT Kats took each arm to guide him.

They got strange looks from the enforcers as they led the covered figure to the elevators and down to the task force conference room.

All members of the task force had come at a run to the room and were waiting. The Sergeant had just arrived with a uniform over his arm when the SWAT Kats walked in.

Razor insured the door was closed behind them before he pulled the tarp off Feral.

"Holy...Commander Feral, sir!" Steele blurted out in shocked amazement.

All the others made stunned sounds and comments when they learned the identify of the strangely dressed Kat.

"Before he explains what has happened, let him demonstrate what was done to him and all the other kidnaped officers. It proves my initial theory was all too correct." Razor said, giving Feral a look that said he should do this.

After only a moments hesitation, Feral had to agree this needed to be done first. He peeled off the too tight G-suit.

"Okay, we were altered to take two forms beyond our original one. The first form you'll see is what my captor called the 'warform', the second is the 'primitive' form, which was different for each of us." Feral explained before showing what he meant.

There were cries of shocked amazement when Feral took his towering warform. "I'm capable of speech in this form, though it's a bit difficult." He said in a very gravely voice. Then he altered once more. A huge 650 pound brown striped tiger now stood there. He held that form for a minute or two before altering back to Kat form.

He gratefully took the uniform the Sergeant handed to him and began to put it on quickly.

"I can't tell you how good it feels to be dressed again and back home. Shall we sit? I'll tell you what had happened. Steele, this should be recorded so that I don't have to repeat it over and over and for the record." Feral said quietly. Steele nodded and retrieved the recording device in a cupboard in the room. Everyone sat and waited for the Commander to tell his tale again.

It took over an hour to tell and then another two hours of grueling questions from the task force. When that was over, Steele brought Feral up to date on what had happened during his absence and introduced him to the task force.

Feral was amazed and pleased that Steele had straightened out and had managed to run this task force efficiently and having the foresight to send out special ops units to collect data. He was now able to fill in the holes they were missing much quicker than if he'd had to set things up from the get go.

With that done, they ordered dinner and set about making a new plan of attack.


	9. Chapter 8: Making Plans

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 8:** Making Plans

As Feral dug hungrily into the food that had been brought, Steele brought him up to speed with what had happened in his absence and the plan they had just developed to find the one responsible for what was happening.

Feral was able to brief them on what the Kat who was responsible for this mad plan looked like but not his name. When he told them why the Kat was doing it there was a loud outcry.

"What?! That's insane!" T-Bone blurted out in angry dismay. Many of the others echoed his sentiment.

"Yeah, he's that alright. We've just got to stop him. Unfortunately, I had been flown a distance to where I was forced to commit that act of terrorism so I'm unable to tell you where I've been all this time." Feral said unhappily.

"Well, we still have our original plan to check out the mountain range near the Kingdom of Mubato. It sounds like our most viable lead so far." Steele said slowly.

"I intend to go along. I know what the stronghold looks like plus my sense of smell is stronger in my tiger form and I should be able to pick up the scent of the others." Feral said firmly.

"That's a really good idea, Commander. However, we need to discuss how we save your fellow prisoners. As you said they are hooked up to bombs. I personally don't want to kill these guys when its plainly not their fault for what's happened." Steele said cautiously.

"You're right! It's one thing to find their hideout but another to effect a rescue." Feral rumbled sourly. "And we can't just pick them up at the sites we suspect this mad kat may strike for the same reason."

"Too bad you had to get rid of that bomb, Commander. I might have found out its frequency. As it is I'll just have to develop one that can speed through frequencies rapidly to deactivate the bombs or block their signal. Come to think of it, that might be a better solution." Razor said thoughtfully. "If we locate their hideout, then I could monitor the signals coming out of there and match them to the signals at the next attack. If I can do that, I'll be able to find a way to block it." He said excitedly.

"That would be great but it means we can't take him out until you find that signal so we have to be careful he never sees us." Feral cautioned.

"Then we go in covert as planned and with a small group." Major Flicknor said. The rest nodded their heads in agreement.

"I suggest the group consist of the SWAT Kats, Commander Feral, and a black ops team of six." Steele said then blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry sir, you of course can order whatever team you deem proper." He said quickly realizing he'd usurped his Commander's position.

Feral was really having a hard time getting used to this new and efficient second in command. The Kat boggled his mind at how much he'd changed. It actually felt great knowing he could leave things here in capable paws.

"No Steele. You were in charge of this operation before I returned and know more of what is going on. Besides you need to coordinate and continue to collect data while I'm away and I agree with your selection of the team, by the way." Feral said with a grin.

Steele returned the smile, relieved he hadn't upset his superior and pleased that Feral was letting him stay in charge and had faith in him.

"As badly as I'm sure we all are at getting this show on the road, I need to put together what I need for this mission and I'm sure Feral needs to rest after his really long trip. It's already two in the afternoon so I recommend we plan on leaving day after tomorrow at dawn." Razor said.

"Since your expertise is important to the success of this mission, we'll go with your suggestion, Razor." Feral said with a nod then sighed and stretched as he got to his feet. "It will feel good to be able to get a sound nights sleep rather than the catnaps I've had to survive on to stay alive."

With that decision made, the meeting broke up. The task force members went to collect all the data they could so that the insertion team had the most current information at their paws.

A few stopped to talk with Feral, preventing him from leaving right away.

"That was a very harrowing experience you survived Commander. Are you going to be alright." Major Flicknor asked in concern.

"Honestly? I don't really know. I do know I want to be normal again but don't know if that's possible. I'm concerned for all the females that had been bred and their kittens they'll be giving birth to very soon. That mad Kat had plans to train the kittens from very young to be the new warriors for his army of peace." Feral spat angrily.

"You seem more than just a little upset by that Feral. It's awful to be sure but you make it sound a bit more personal." Razor said curiously.

Feral's face blushed with a combination of anguish and embarrassment. "I was one of those 'chosen' to breed with a female. They made certain we wouldn't have a choice by making us do the deed in our tiger forms with her in an induced heat." He said bitterly.

"Crud, Feral. That's awful. I'd be pissed too." T-Bone said in shocked dismay.

"Yeah, well...I want to get her and the others out of there. They aren't being sent on missions and I have no idea where he's keeping them. I don't want to contemplate what he'll do with the mothers once their usefulness is over." Feral said tightly.

"Then it's imperative we find this spider's nest quickly." Major Flicknor said, a look of angry distaste on his face.

Feral merely sighed and nodded in agreement.

"If you'll excuse me, I really do need to get some rest if I'm to be of any use." He murmured, exhaustion finally catching up to him.

"Of course, Commander. I hope your sleep is restful and not disturbed by your experiences." Captain Harmon said sympathetically.

Feral gave a wane smile at that sentiment and slipped out of the room, quickly making for the elevator and his temporary quarters he used whenever he remained overnight. He received many a startled look from the few enforcers he encountered.

He sighed in relief when he closed the door behind him. First order of business was a hot shower.

T-Bone roared into their hidden runway and brought the Turbokat to a smooth stop on its turntable. As they rose in the air to the hangar he mused about Feral's experience.

As the turntable stopped, he popped the canopy and they jumped down to the floor.

"You know Razor, I really feel sorry and angry for what Feral went through. It was amazing he managed to survive." He said.

"Yeah, I know. From what he said, this leader had taken the most well trained and best military personnel he could find. What scares me is we could have easily been caught in his snare if they had been able to find us." Razor said uneasily.

T-Bone shivered at that realization. Just the little bit Feral had told them of the trauma he'd gone through sent chills down his spine. He didn't think he wanted to know what Feral had left out of his report. It was probably the stuff of nightmares.

He quickly stripped off his G-suit. "You want me to order dinner and bring it to you, Jake?" He asked his partner before heading up the ladder.

"Yeah, thanks. I've got a lot to do." Jake said distractedly as he headed for his work bench.

"Okay. When I get back let me know what you want me to do to the Turbokat to prepare it for our mission." Chance said then disappeared upstairs to order dinner.

Feral was leaving the bathroom and belting his bathrobe when there was a knock at his door. Surprised, he went and pulled it open. There stood his Sergeant with a bag that smelled delicious and a large drink.

"I thought you might still be hungry sir, so I went and got you something I know you'll like." The Sergeant said politely.

"You're a godsend! Thank you so much. My metabolism burns calories faster than it used to and I have to really pack away the food to compensate or I run into trouble with my tiger alter ego." Feral said with a relieved sigh, taking the food and drink from his assistant.

"I guessed as much. Enjoy your meal, sir and rest well. You want a wake up call?" The Sergeant asked.

"Uh...no. Unless I'm really needed, I think I'll sleep in for a few hours. Thanks. I appreciate your thoughtfulness." Feral told him.

"You're welcome, sir. See you tomorrow." The Sergeant said with a small smile then turned and left.

Feral closed his door and took his food to the small table in the room. 'I'm truly grateful to him. I certainly missed having him around. Hmmm...delicious." He rumbled in appreciation as he devoured his meal.

_Author's Note: Sorry it's been awhile since I updated this story. Been busy and on vacation and also suffering a bout of writer's block. Hope to get this done soon as I have to concentrate on finishing all my other open stories then set everything online aside as I pack up our home to move to the other side of Washington next summer. Hope some of you still find this interesting enough to continue to read and review. Thanks for your patience._


	10. Chapter 9, Going to War, Pt 1

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 9:** Going to War, Part I

An hour after their return from Enforcer Headquarters, Chance brought some food and drink down to the hangar for his partner. As he entered Jake's work room, he noted the Turbokat's comm unit was in pieces on the work bench.

Raising an eyebrow at the sight but wisely not saying anything, Chance laid the food down on the only clear section of the bench then quietly left his partner alone. He knew Jake would work around the clock to get this finished and the best he could do was get some rest himself then load up the Turbokat with what he thought they needed and wait for Jake to tell him what else he wanted added.

At Enforcer Headquarters, Feral felt replete for the first time in weeks and was luxuriating in a long hot shower. It felt soo good. By the time he decided to get out, the water was growing cold. Sighing he stepped into the dryer and stood there with his eyes closed. After being under public scrutiny in that cell for so long, the peace and privacy of his room was a welcome balm to his badly battered spirit.

Finally thoroughly dry, he padded naked to the bed and crawled under the covers. The bed was like heaven and he was soon out cold.

He slept for more than twenty-four hours. Sgt Fallon didn't allow anyone to trouble the Commander. By the time Feral came out of his room, Fallon, who had someone watching, was ready for him.

"Good afternoon, sir. I have a meal ready for you in your office and Lt. Commander Steele has been notified that you're up and is preparing a report of what's been going on while you rested." He told Feral briskly.

Feral smiled warmly, "You know, Sergeant, I really missed you."

Sgt Fallon blushed with embarrassment at the compliment.

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness. Now, have you taken a break yet, yourself?" Feral asked seriously.

"Uh, I took a short nap, sir. I was busy getting information collected for Commander Steele." Fallon admitted.

"Are you finished doing that for now?"

"Yes sir." Fallon said, cocking a questioning eye at his Commander.

"Then go take three hours downtime. I'll let Steele know. We need you sharp and alert." Feral ordered him.

Fallon blinked in surprise but responded with a brisk salute and a..... "Yes sir."

Feral smiled at his sergeant's retreating back. 'That is the most valuable Kat on my staff.' He mused as he made his way to the elevator.

After getting updated by Steele and eating a nice hot meal, Feral had to endure a full and complete physical. Steele apologized but told his Commander the medical staff needed to know just what had been done to him. Feral understood the need but truly hated the process.

It was well after dusk when the medicals finally released him. There was a lot of buzzing going on among the staff about Feral's tests but they weren't ready to release any information until they had time to process it.

Sighing in relief to be free of the poking and prodding, Feral took a stroll around his headquarters. His enforcers were relieved to see him back and he took the time to talk to them to ease their fears and give them hope that this would be all over soon.

He made his way back to his office where Steele and he talked about the mission tomorrow. Sgt Fallon was back on duty and had ordered the pair of officers dinner which they appreciated.

By seven p.m., Feral put out the order for the team going on the mission with him to get some downtime. He returned to his quarters to do the same. Earlier in the day, while he had been asleep, Steele had the entire headquarters readied for this first push to stop the Kat who would have peace at any cost. Now it was up to Feral and his team to find him.

A distance from Enforcer Headquarters, at the salvage yard, Chance sighed as he checked the time. It was going on five p.m the day before they were to leave. He'd brought Jake his dinner and noted his friend had barely touched his lunch.

"You have to stop to eat. Need fuel for that super brain of yours to stay sharp." Chance said resting his paws on his friends shoulders and gradually squeezing to get him to stop what he was doing.

Jake growled at him but he stopped working and began to eat his food while his eyes feverishly stared at the nearly reassembled comm unit.

"So how's the work going, buddy?" Chance asked as he leaned against a wall, very careful not to get near his partner's work area.

The cinnamon tom sighed but gave a tired grin in response. "Nearly done. Gotta finish putting that together then installing it and that other smaller unit into the Turbokat."

"How much longer is that going to take?" The sandy tom asked in concern.

Jake scratched his neck and stretched. "At least another three hours."

"Well, don't forget you have to be fresh for the battle, buddy. Exhausted is not what we need when you are the only one who's going to have the most important part when we get there." Chance cautioned his perfectionist partner.

"Relax, Chance. I'll hit the bed immediately after I'm through. Besides, I can catch a nap on the flight there. It's nearly a three hour trip. Speaking of which, are the fuel tanks topped?" Jake asked returning to his work bench.

"Yeah, and missiles are loaded. Was there anything else you wanted aboard?" His friend asked.

"Uhm.....let's see.......the new stealth gear and uniforms I developed for this..........plenty of fast acting sleep gas......oxygen and add to our first aid kit the trauma gear we put together and a stretcher....blankets.....the water cistern........oh.......find something that can be used to make a collar for a tiger.......I want to put a tracer on Feral. I've already made a mini-radio for him that he can carry around his neck then use when he's in his normal form. Make sure the hover cat is loaded and both the single and double cyclotrons. Check that we have sufficient grappling line and extra climbing gear....we or the others might need it. And, lastly, add extra parachutes and pick up an extra large coverall in dark blue or black for Feral. That should do it." Jake finally said, not seeing the look of annoyance on his partner's face.

"Geez, why the heck didn't you tell me this earlier? How about rations too, for crud sake?" Chance said almost facetiously.

"Oh, good idea. Forgot that." His friend said distractedly, not really paying that much attention to his friend.

Shaking his head, Chance just snorted and went to work. Earlier in the day, he'd cleared the garage of the few cars that had been waiting for repair then had loaded the jet. Now he had to load the other things Jake wanted and it took another two hours to accomplish.

Going back upstairs to the garage, he made a sign to say they would be closed for at least a week for a family emergency. Fortunately, they had no work backed up at the moment. He went around to check the yard and secured what he needed to before coming back in and calling for a dinner delivery. Once he'd gotten Jake to eat his dinner, he left his partner alone and went to relax and veg before the TV for a little while.

Chance yawned and shut the TV off when it was close to ten o'clock. Jake had not come up from the hangar. Sighing, he went down to find him. When he didn't see him at his work bench, he guessed Jake was installing the comm into the jet. He walked out into the hangar proper and headed for the jet's parking area.

Leaping to the wing, he peered over the cockpit and found Jake with half his body buried under his control station. Soft mutters and growls floated up from the reclined Kat.

"How's it going, buddy?"

A bark of pain was heard then an angry, tired face popped up and scowled at him. "Crap, Chance you startled me." He hissed rubbing his forehead.

"Sorry, but its getting late, Jake. I hope you're nearly done."

Jake sighed and disappeared under the panel. "Yeah, just have to finish the wiring and test it......about another thirty to forty minutes."

"Okay, just make sure you take a hot shower and drink some warm milk so you'll sleep soundly." Chance said then left his partner to get done in peace.

He took his own advice and was soon climbing into his bed and settling down. As he began to drift to sleep he was relieved to hear the shower come on. Smiling to himself, he allowed his mind to shut down.......tomorrow would be here all too soon.

**_Author's Note: Sorry I took so long to get back to this. I was stuck and had lots of little stories pushing at me to put them on paper. So now I'm back and hope to get this done soon. Hope you will still read it even after this long._**


	11. Chapter 10, Going to War, Pt II

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 10:** Going to War, Part II

At dawn, Feral and his team waited on the flight line for the SWAT Kats to appear which they did, five minutes later. T-Bone floated the Turbokat down to just a few feet from the waiting group. As soon as it touched down, the ramp began lowering.

Razor greeted them as they hurried aboard. He showed them where to place their gear then had them get strapped into flip down seats he'd installed when they had been included in the task force, knowing they might have to transport special ops teams when the time came.

"It's a three hour flight. Rest while you can." Razor told them then climbed back up to his seat.

T-Bone lifted off and headed south. Despite how quickly they wanted to get there, T-Bone was mindful of the need to retain as much fuel as possible since he didn't know when or where he would be able to refuel.

The flight was uneventful and when they reached the Tribal Kingdom of Mubatu, they were ordered to set down in their military controlled area of the airport.

Once on the ground, T-Bone was directed to roll the distinctive jet into an open hangar waiting for them. The tabby gave acknowledgment and drove the Turbokat into the spacious hangar. The doors were immediately closed behind them.

Razor lowered the cargo door. Everyone exited and were met by a powerful looking panther cross. He was dressed in a camouflaged uniform with no ranking indicated. The symbol of their army was on a very small patch over his heart.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Mubatu. I am Commander Emeka, Chief of our military forces here. I've been ordered by our president to provide you with any assistance you might need in your search for this mad kat." He said gravely, shaking Feral's paw and the SWAT Kats. The special ops team stayed back behind Feral but listened alertly.

"Thank you for your cooperation and offer of assistance. I am Commander Feral and I'm sure you're aware that these are the SWAT Kats. This is my special ops team." Feral introduced them.

"Pleased to meet you all. Follow me to where we can talk privately." Commander Emeka said leading them toward an office area.

The group noticed the hangar was very heavily guarded but discreetly. The soldiers were not present outside the building so that no one would think there was anything unusual going on.

A guard opened the door when they reached the empty office and they trooped in. The room was simple, with a few desks, computers, a huge map on the wall, no windows, and a few filing cabinets.

"I know you're anxious to get started on your mission so I will be brief." Commander Emeka said bluntly. "Your jet will be guarded at all times while it is parked here. Only myself, the President and this small detachment of soldiers are aware of who you are and why you're here. We've done everything we can to insure your presence remains a secret.

I have two trackers from the tribe that lives in the area, where our target is suspected of hiding, that will be your guide. If there is anything else we can provide, you have only to ask."

"Thank you for your precautions and foresight. The SWAT Kats have what we need at the moment to get this mission started. Give us a frequency to keep in contact with you." Feral told him. "Have you any new intel about our target?"

"My spies have told me they have seen where those jets with the peace symbols have been using as a staging area. It's a private airstrip located some thirty miles southeast of here. I have it under surveillance. So far, all I've seen on the tapes is apparently ordinary Kats dressed in coveralls with the peace symbol on them going and coming at odd times. There's been no consistent schedule. Any attempt to follow the jets to wherever they go has been a failure. I'm sorry but our air force is not as technologically advanced as yours or our enemies nor have the tracers we've been able to put on the jets been successful. They apparently have a sophisticated jamming system." Emeka admitted unhappily.

"That's alright. What you've been able to do is more than we had when we started. Seeing that symbol here, tells us that our quarry is indeed in this area and that's a relief since it shortens our search for him." Feral said in real relief. This was the break, besides his return, that they desperately needed.

"Yeah, that's great news!" Razor said with a sigh. "Okay, here's what we plan to do. I have developed a device that will monitor the various frequencies coming from the compound we hope to find. Our objective for this trip is to find the frequency that holds the altered Kats hostage."

He noted the confused look on Emeka's face. "Apparently, you haven't heard about this. The military personnel that had been kidnapped around the world are being altered and then sent on missions of terrorism. These Kats are forced to do this by way of miniature bombs inserted under the skin on their necks. Failure to obey their orders gets them and their target as well as any innocents in the area, blown up.

"That's barbaric!" Emeka blurted in angry horror.

"Yeah, we know." Razor agreed grimly. "We're going to try and stop this. I will attempt to find out the frequency the bombs work on and jam it. The downside of this mission is, we have to remain stationary for however long it takes me to obtain the different frequencies then we have to follow one of their missions to narrow down the signal." Razor finished.

"A formidable task! I hope you are successful. I do have a question, though."

"What's that?" Feral asked.

"We, the President and I, are having some difficulty believing the information we've received about Kats able to change their shape. Could you give me proof of such an occurrence and why it is being done and to who? And how this is related to these poor devils wearing bombs?"

"Unfortunately, they are all connected. I was one of their prisoners and went through a torturous 'training' to become one of this mad kat's super soldiers. It was only because of a traitor among his elite that I escaped to tell anyone what happened." Feral said grimly then went on to tell the Commander a thumbnail description of what had happened to him and what the mad kat planned.

The Mubatu Commander and his lieutenant gaped at him in shock.

"That is incredible and almost unbelievable. Not to call you a liar, sir, but could you prove this to me?" Commander Emeka asked, truly disturbed and having a hard time believing Feral's claims.

Feral sighed, but stripped his equipment from his simple coveralls he was wearing for ease of changing his form. One of his officers took his things as Feral handed them to him. He stepped out of his clothes quickly then altered. First to a tiger then his warform.

There were cries of shock and fear laced with anger. Feral's team had not seen him transform before and it was very disturbing.

"What a fearful thing this creature has done. Can you be returned to normal?" Emeka asked, sorrow for the Commander in his expressive eyes.

"I don't know. Our doctors are researching that now." Feral said grimly as he redressed.

"I will pray to our Gods that they find one. You are a brave Kat, Commander. Our prayers go with you that your mission is a successful one. This creature must be stopped."

"You'll get no argument from us and thanks for the prayers, we'll need all we can get!" T-Bone spoke for the first time.

There was a moment of silence then Razor took command. "Time to get this show on the road. How far is the target location?"

"Some thirty miles from here. Lt. Kofi will be the one to lead you there then he will remain with you as you meet the trackers and be your translator as they don't speak your language. We thought to take you by convoy." Emeko told him.

Immediately, Feral and the SWAT Kats shook their heads. "No, sorry. That's like waving a flag that said 'We know you're here!'" Feral said in disagreement.

"Feral's right. We need to go off road and be as invisible as we can be. That being said, is there a more hidden route to get us there?" Razor asked grimly.

"Well yes.....it's through the savanna. High grasses and small forests lead right up to the mountain. But it is more dangerous. There are many large wild animals out there that don't take kindly to us simple Kats invading their territory. Fighting them off could give away your positions and how do you intend to get there quickly and quietly anyway?" Emeka asked in confusion and concern.

"We'll go by Hoverkat. It's nearly silent and moves quickly. I've enlarged it to handle all of us and our equipment." Razor responded.

"And, as for the wild animals, we have quick acting sleep gas to take them out quickly." T-Bone added confidently.

"Oh, that'll certainly work but what is a Hoverkat?" Emeka asked.

Razor grinned. "Just watch!" He and T-Bone made for the jet's cargo hold. Razor triggered the door open.

The Mubatu's watched in fascination as T-Bone guided a large, strangely circular shaped vehicle that floated above the ground, out of the hold. He landed it just outside of the jet.

Feral and his team had seen it when they traveled in the hold but hadn't known what it was while Emeka had not seen anything like this before. They looked the craft over with avid interest.

"This is truly remarkable!" Commander Emeko said in admiration.

"I wondered what this thing was....." Feral muttered as he looked over the odd vehicle. "Well looks like this will get us there fairly fast and quiet alright. Let's get loaded and head out." He ordered.

In very little time, the Hoverkat was loaded and the special ops team climbed aboard. Lt. Kofi and Feral waited for the SWAT Kats before boarding. The pair had disappeared for a few minutes. When they reappeared, Feral blinked in surprise.

The SWAT Kats were now dressed in new G-suits that were a dark blue-black with no distinguishing features except for a small patch with their familiar symbol on it.

"What's with the new costumes?" Feral asked.

"We won't stand out and give away that the SWAT Kats are in the area just as you aren't wearing your distinctive uniforms. It's also the reason I painted the Hoverkat all black. After all, that is the point.....staying incognito." Razor said with a snort.

"You have a point. Good thinking! Let's go then." Feral said. He was continually amazed at how well prepared the smallest of the SWAT Kats was whenever he went into battle. He often wondered if the Kat had a small amount of precognition. He shrugged and climbed aboard.

After a quick discussion with his Commander on the best path to take out of the city that would get less noticed and the path they had planned to take to their destination, Lt. Kofi saluted and joined the group aboard the Hovercraft.

Commander Emeka came close to the hovering vehicle.

"I've planned a distraction to the north of this area to redirect any eyes that might be turned this way. As soon as I give you the signal head immediately to your right and straight where Lt. Kofi will then direct where to go. Good luck to you all!"

T-Bone nodded his understanding. Lt Kofi was sitting directly behind the tabby to guide him. He piloted the Hoverkat toward the hangar doors and waited. The doors were opened just enough for them to shoot through.

Ten minutes later they heard a loud boom and alarms going off. Commander Emeko signaled to them to take off and T-Bone wasted no time shooting through the opening quickly and turning right which sent them behind a line of small planes.

"Go for a mile on this path then we will take a sharp left." Kofi told him quickly.

"Gotcha!"

The passengers marveled at how fast and silent their vehicle moved. Feral mused that he wished the enforcers had something like this for certain stealth missions.

"Turn here!" Kofi warned.

The turn took them behind a huge maintenance hangar. They passed this and raced behind a row of small plane hangars. None saw them. They traveled for about a half mile.

"Here's where we might be seen, slow down and stop before moving from behind this building and I will check it out first." Lt. Kofi said quickly, preparing to leap out of the Hoverkat.

T-Bone slowed their progress then halted smoothly behind the last of the hangars. Kofi leapt out and ran to the front of the building, staying close to the wall so as not to be seen. Moments later he rejoined them.

"We're clear. Head straight ahead toward that tree line you see over there." Kofi said pointing to a copse of trees at the edge of this part of the flight line.

T-Bone nodded and sent the Hoverkat forward carefully until he could see around the building for himself. Seeing it was still clear of anyone, he gunned it and sent them flying toward the tree line in nearly a blur.

He slowed as soon as he passed the first of the trees then halted when he was certain they were out of view.

Kofi was still catching his breath from the rapid transit but quickly shook himself and directed T-Bone to the right again. What lay before them was a sea of grass with trees further off in the distance.

Not being able to see where they were going made T-Bone uneasy. Razor, however, took a scan of their course ahead and could detect nothing.

"Safe to go, buddy. You can go to forty mph."

"Roger!"

They shot off again but at a more sedate speed but despite what seemed like a slower speed, they still seemed to reach the trees rather quickly. The forest was a bit heavier here so T-Bone had to take a slower rate of speed. Everyone was so focused on their mission they weren't paying much attention to the trees they were passing until being forcibly reminded of the dangers.

A large, heavy body slammed into one of the special ops Kats sending them both to the packed floor of the Hoverkat.

The body was a leopard and it wasn't happy about being aboard a moving vehicle. It apparently had been startled from its daytime nap and fell into the Hoverkat as it went past.

T-Bone had halted the Hoverkat immediately so that Razor could incapacitate the wild cat but before he could turn around, Feral altered to his warform instantly and grabbed the cat by the back, tossing it out of the vehicle without seeming effort.

The burly SWAT Kat instantly shot their vehicle away from the angry and shaken cat. The other occupants stared at Feral in amazement as he returned to his natural form easily.

He stared down at himself ruefully. "Damn, my clothes are trashed."

"Not to worry Feral, I took that into account and had T-Bone get some coveralls for you. They are in one of the packs on the floor." Razor told him with an amused smile.

"Well that's thoughtful of you. I think, however, I won't change clothes until we're out of here." Feral sighed, resigned to stay in clothes that barely covered him.

"Good idea."


	12. Chapter 11, Going to War, Pt III

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 11:** Going to War, Part III

Now forewarned to be alert, all eyes watched the trees and the area around them. They'd been traveling for over an hour and encountered no more animals. They were about a couple of miles from the base of the mountain when their luck ran out.

They were still hidden by a thick forest when they stopped. This was as far as the HoverKat could go and cover to hide it was better. T-Bone and Razor looked around for the best place to stash the Hoverkat and decided a thick bushy area would do. After parking it as far in the brush as they could, they covered it tightly with a camouflage tarp.

They divvied their equipment up amongst themselves then trekked on foot for the rocky formation that looked like a castle where their trackers were supposed to meet them, Lt. Kofi leading the way.

It was as they left the trees and trekked through the high grass that was between them and the foothills that they ran into trouble. The first thing they noticed was a loud huff of air somewhere nearby then a roar before something huge came thundering toward them through the grass.

"Run to your right....quickly!" Feral shouted then altered to his tiger form.

Out of the grass came a big, gray shape with a wicked horn leading the way. A rhino! Feral unhesitatingly roared and charged the creature from the side, startling it and making it shy away from the others.

Razor halted in his tracks and watched Feral and the rhino carefully. "Feral to your left.....now!" As Feral obeyed, Razor shot a gas grenade at the feet of the rhino. Seconds later the behemoth crashed to its face then rolled to its side unconscious.

Silence fell once more. Fortunately, the action had been quick, the gas was colorless and the battle no different than the savannahs were used to so no one would think anything unusual had occurred. Everyone gathered their wits and their belongings and with Feral retaining his tiger shape, they set off once more, putting distance from the sleeping giant.

With Feral walking next to Lt Kofi, they were able to press on more quickly. Finally, they reached their destination. From behind an outcropping some five feet up the mountain face, their trackers appeared. The group sought shelter from possible eyes under a lone, spreading banyan tree and waited. Kofi met their trackers as they approached and a rapid discussion began in another language.

Feral had wisely altered back to normal when he scented the trackers and quickly got dressed in one of the coveralls the SWAT Kats had brought for him.

"I have to admit, that trick of yours made our trip a little less hazardous, Feral." T-Bone said in grudging admiration.

Feral grimaced. "Thanks, but I'd still rather be normal."

"Yeah, I can only imagine. Hope they find a way to do it." T-Bone said sincerely, to Feral's surprise.

With a faint blush on his cheeks, Feral just nodded and looked toward the trackers. The pair were dressed only in some kind of decorated wrap and sandals, long necklaces with teeth hanging from them was around their necks. Their faces bore painted symbols on foreheads and cheeks. Their hair was tied in intricate knots and worn just to the middle of their backs. Each carried a knife, spear, carry bag and mat.

They made many gestures toward a peak shrouded with clouds. Apparently, this was where they would find their target. It looked a fair distance.

Razor eyed the mountain they would have to climb. He was able to note the many crevices, ledges, and caves which would make climbing and hiding much easier. The peak in question was the next one over.

"Looks like we may be able to use our grappling lines to get us up halfway then help the others repel up." He commented.

Feral studied the mountain in question. "Going to still be quite a climb." He grunted.

"Oh, no doubt. Perhaps we should eat now so we don't have to stop later." Razor suggested.

"Let's see what the trackers have to say first." Feral said, cautiously.

Lt. Kofi returned to the group trailed by the trackers. "Okay, the peak over to the left is where these guys have seen the compound. They have seen some increased traffic over the past week. You wouldn't have any idea what that might be about Commander?" He asked Feral.

Feral frowned and thought. "No. His grand plan was to destroy the corrupt leaders and the economies of borderline troublesome leaders before his massive take over of the planet. As near as I was able to determine that could be a year or more away."

"So what's going on is just missions to accomplish this." T-Bone mused aloud.

"Most likely."

"So when do they think we can start up the mountain?" Razor asked Kofi, anxious to get started.

"They say we should rest and eat then we go in about an hour." Kofi said.

"Good idea!" Feral grunted, turning to put out the order.

The sun was further down the sky allowing this side of the mountain to fall into shadow which would further hide them. Feral decided after some thought, to take his warform since it would make climbing easier for him.

At the sight of him, the trackers began to gabble excitedly, pointing at him. Lt. Kofi translated.

"They say they remember you, Commander. They have been watching the compound for months and say they had commented on how well you mastered the tasks forced upon you. They were concerned when they didn't see you again. They are very pleased you were able to escape and had bet that if anyone could do it, you would have been the one."

Feral blushed a bit at that information as well as the pleased looks of the trackers.

"They ask if they may touch you, sir." Kofi added, a little embarrassed by the request.

Feral blinked at that but shrugged and nodded. The trackers came up to him and studied his body closely, touching him lightly on the chest but not intrusively. Satisfied, after a moment, they withdrew but still gave him looks of fascination.

"Heh heh! Seems you're real popular around here, Commander." T-Bone chuckled lightly.

The dark tom was very glad his dark fur hid any blushing he was doing at that observation. Clearing his throat, he rumbled in that deep gravely voice, "Shouldn't we be going?"

"Yeah, let's shove off." Razor agreed.

The group followed the trackers as they lead them to a deep crevasse that would hide them and would be easier to climb. When they reached the base, Razor studied the surface looking for the best place to fire their grapon hooks.

"There, see that fairly large ledge, T-Bone? Fire grappling lines toward that." Razor ordered.

"Roger!"

The SWAT Kats fired and watched as their lines snaked high into the air then bite into the rock wall just above the ledge. Pulling back hard they checked to ensure the hooks were in deep then Razor went up while T-Bone waited.

Razor sailed into the air swiftly. The trackers eyes widened in amazement as they watched. The smaller SWAT Kat landed lightly on the ledge. He quickly looked around the area to see if the whole group could stand here. It was narrow but doable. He hit his helmet mike.

"Okay, buddy. It's safe to come up. Bring the rope with you."

"Right!" T-Bone responded then turned to the group behind him. "Okay, give me at least three lines to take up with me." He ordered. The supply member of the team quickly responded, handing the SWAT Kat three climbing ropes, unfurled and ready for him to string behind him.

Tying the ropes to his waist securely, T-Bone engaged his grappling line and soared up just as easily as Razor had done. At the ledge, Razor helped undo the ropes and secured them to sturdy pitons he'd shot into the rock at the back of the ledge.

Using the prearranged signal to tell the ones below to start up, the SWAT Kats prepared to help them get up the mountain.

The trackers and the lighter team members quickly scaled the mountain first, then the heavier ones made the trip. Feral was the last with Lt. Kofi. Soon they were huddled together on the ledge and looking for their next jump. This was indeed a faster way to get to the top before darkness set in.

Very soon they were on the part of the mountain that had a bridge of rock to the other peak which was their destination. Darkness was nearly upon them so they had to be quick.

They followed the trackers in single file across the treacherous path until finally, they were on the other peak. Here the trackers had them press themselves close to the wall to inch along a path that was only three feet wide. It took a long time to traverse this and they were exhausted by the time they reached the cave the trackers intended to stop at for the night and to use as an observation post.

The cave wasn't more than ten feet deep but it was big enough for them to be warm and comfortable. They quickly set up camp in the dying light of the day. The trackers stayed near the entryway. They grabbed Lt. Kofi by the arm and drew him close for a quick conversation.

The lieutenant looked out from their cave hideaway and saw what the trackers were trying to tell him. Not far from their perch, he could see the subdued lightning of a large compound. Excitement thrummed through him. They were here! He turned back to the others.

"It's here! Come look!" He exclaimed.

They all went to the entrance and stared in the direction the Lieutenant pointed.

"This is perfect. We don't have to go any further. I'll set up my equipment immediately." Razor said with relief.

The rest of the team went toward the back of the cave and prepared to eat a meal. Razor had provided a heating coil that worked on batteries to heat their food and a lantern that was shielded to provide them with light.

Many of the team had carried the extra gear the SWAT Kats needed besides their survival gear. This was what Razor was pawing through to collect the parts he carefully packed of his surveillance equipment.

T-Bone helped his partner set up his equipment to one side of the cave mouth. Razor soon had his headphones on and the recording device running. He used a special power pack to run his equipment. T-Bone brought a blanket and heat packet to keep his partner warm on the ledge.

Feral stared out into the night, standing on the other side of the cave mouth and just behind the trackers who where keeping guard. His sharp warform eyesight allowed him to see details the others couldn't. He noted they were some twenty miles across and ten miles up from the compound. A bridge of sorts jutted out from the peak they were hiding in to the section of mountain the compound was perched on.

He gauged he should be able to travel that distance in good time and without too much trouble. He turned and went to the others huddled resting. He dropped to his heels and caught their attention.

"I want to make a surveillance run." He said bluntly.

T-Bone frowned behind his mask as did Lt. Kofi and several of Feral's special ops team.

Before T-Bone could comment, Feral's surveillance specialist spoke up. "Sir, you've told us this guy uses robots and high tech cameras to keep his prisoners under control. Wouldn't your presence tip them off if you were caught snooping around?" He asked in concern.

"You're right, but I feel the risk is justified to find out whatever I can." Feral argued.

"What is so urgent that you would risk the mission?" T-Bone growled.

"I want to see if I can find where he's taken the pregnant females." Feral gritted out, a little angry at the tom but knowing he was right. "Before we storm this place, I need to be sure they are still there somewhere and that we can get them out. If we don't find them here, he can continue his plans even if we manage to capture him."

T-Bone and the others paused in thought. This was a valid concern but still.......

"I understand, Feral. But if you're caught, our chances to catch him by surprise and to save those other military prisoners will go up in smoke." T-Bone said cautiously.

Feral nodded grimly. "I know. But I feel the risk is minimal and necessary."

There was silence again as each of the team stared at each other. Finally one of them spoke up.

"Well, I guess if you feel you truly need to do this sir, we can only hope you're not spotted." The enforcer said uneasily.

"I have to agree with him, Feral. Do what you have to but be very careful. Hang on a moment, Razor made some things for you." T-Bone rumbled then got up and went to their packs and pawed around. He came up with the collar and other radio that hung on a chain.

"I'm assuming you intend to go as a full tiger. Razor made this to keep track of you and this......." T-Bone held up the chain with a device on it. "Is your radio when you take a form with fingers again."

"Good idea." Feral said in relief. If he was captured, he would at least be able to warn the others as well as pass on anything of value he'd found out.

He stripped his clothes off and took his warform that would get him down this side of the mountain first. Once he'd reached that small bridge of rock, he would switch to tiger. T-Bone wrapped the collar around his neck firmly then hung the chain which clung to his neck so it wouldn't catch on anything.

T-Bone followed Feral to the entrance of the cave and watched as he vanished in the darkness. He chewed his lip in worry. 'Hope to heck he doesn't get caught!' He sighed mentally.


	13. Chapter 12, Going to War, Pt IV

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 12:** Going to War, Part IV

Traveling down the rock wall in the darkness was tricky, despite the added abilities he now possessed. He nearly lost his footing about halfway down but the long claws on his paws saved him a painful and possibly fatal drop.

It took him some twenty minutes to reach the bridge of stone he seen from above. He took a moment to catch his breath then altered to his tiger form and carefully traversed the rocky bridge. Reaching the other side, Feral sniffed the air cautiously. He could smell the others plainly on the wind that whipped around the mountains.

Rumbling to himself, he began the arduous climb up the steep mountain side. It took more than thirty minutes for him to finally reach the high wall that surrounded the compound.

He searched around the base of it for a way to see in. He finally reached some hardy and very old oak trees that clustered tenaciously to one corner of the mountaintop. He changed to his warform and carefully climbed one of the trees that seemed to have limbs closer to the wall. He stayed within the branches so the leaves would hide him as he came out on a thick limb and laid down on it.

He now had a good view of the workout field with the obstacle course he'd had to run and over near the further wall was the woods he had hunted in. He wished there was a tree outside that part of the wall so that he could get in and out but he was certain the canny leader of this party had thought of that and that was why there weren't any outside way to get in and no inside way to get out.

He wasn't interested in getting on this trip so he settled in for the night. Tomorrow he hoped to see the compound from an outsiders view as it went about its day. Pulling out the radio, T-Bone had given him, he clicked it on and he called out in a soft voice.

"T-Bone?"

"Feral?" The tabby pilot answered immediately, keeping his voice low as well.

"I've found a good observation spot and I'm well hidden. I intend to stay here and watch the compound for a twenty-four period to better observe their daily routine. Don't contact me unless you absolutely must." He told the SWAT Kat.

"Roger, understood. Be careful!" T-Bone said, concern in his voice.

"I will. Feral out!" He cut the connection and hooked the radio back into his collar once more and settled down for the night.

Toward dawn, he carefully climbed down to attend to his needs, caught a couple of rabbits for breakfast then climbed back up and settled in for a long day of watching.

He had to grit his teeth as he watched his fellow prisoners go out for calisthenics since training was over. They were required to change form at least every hour and they still weren't allowed to speak to each other. He watched as the day drew toward lunchtime and the prisoners were called in.

It was silent for a while, so Feral dared to take care of his own needs and was very quickly back in his spot by the time another group was let out. He tensed and dug his claws into the bark of the limb he was laying on. These new prisoners were the pregnant females. They were all showing by now. He spotted the she-tiger cross that carried his kits. None of the females looked happy and though it was obvious they wanted each others company just like the previous group they weren't allow to converse so they stood, walked, lay, or sat all over the grounds.

He did notice that they were not required to alter form. Perhaps that would harm the kittens they carried. Whatever the reason, they kept their original forms and were herded back inside a few hours later, near dinner time.

He again took a short break then watched for hours and on into full dark. During that time he saw nothing move in the compound. Dare he hope, that the leader was so confident of his facility that he used nothing but security cameras around the walls and robots for response? If so, perhaps their chances of putting an end to his scheme would be much easier than he thought.

Having decided he'd gained as much information as he was going to, he climbed down and made his way laboriously back to the rest of the team. In his warform, he appeared suddenly and startled the trackers for a moment. He changed to his normal form and apologized before moving into the cave to talk to the others. He grabbed his g-suit on the way and was putting it on as he approached the group having dinner.

"Commander, you're back early and just in time I see. I'll get you some food!" Lt. Kofi said as he rose and went to where the kitchen had been set up. He was back moments later with a plate of food and a bottle of water.

Feral had sat down next to T-Bone and accepted the plate gratefully. Razor took off his headphones so he could listen.

"How are you doing getting those frequencies?" He asked Razor as he ate.

"Actually, I'm nearly finished. Not as many signals as I feared. Should be done in about another hour or so." Razor told him.

"That's good news. Well the females are here. I'm assuming that altering their form could harm the kittens so they are being kept in Kat form. The rest are taken out for exercise in the morning and the pregnant females are let out in the afternoon. Apparently the leader feels his cameras and the remote location are sufficient protection. I'm guessing the robots don't come outside unless an alarm is tripped. At least, I saw none doing patrols." Feral told them.

"Perfect! Once I determine what signals are the bombs, what's left can only be the frequencies used for the security system and the robots. Jamming those should cause chaos allowing us to storm the place and rescue everyone." Razor said in relief. Things had just become easier.

Feral smiled for the first time in a long while. "Now that's really good news. So, our next step is to decamp and go to the airstrip and watch again while you get a fix on the bomb's signal."

"Sounds like a plan. Finally, we're closing in on that bastard." T-Bone growled in satisfaction. All around him the others rumbled their agreement.

"Let's get some rest and make an early start down the mountain before the compound wakes for the day." Feral decided. "That's around seven a.m."

Everyone nodded and finished their meals, cleaned up, packed their things then settled down to sleep except for Razor who remained up to finish his surveillance. It wasn't until around eleven p.m. that he finally packed it in. T-Bone woke to help him dismantle the equipment and put the parts in the various backpacks then they settled down for sleep themselves.

Dawn was barely peeking over the mountains when the group woke, ate breakfast and began the difficult repel down. The sun was beginning to warm their backs when they reached the last part of the descent.

They broke for a well deserved break at the base of the mountain and said farewell to their helpful trackers after sharing lunch with them. However, the trackers had asked for one last favor.

Blushing a bit, Lt. Kofi turned to Feral after listening to the head tracker for a moment.

"Uh, sir. They would like to see you one last time in your two other forms. It's something to do with their religious beliefs."

Feral looked at the trackers who stared back at him with shining eyes. He sighed and nodded, after all they had done them a great favor and they weren't asking for much. Stripping off, he first changed to his warform. The trackers came close and touched him reverently then he took his tiger form. They stroked his beautiful coat which Feral was embarrassed to admit, felt rather nice.

Finally he changed back and redressed. The trackers waved farewell with big smiles on their faces and vanished in the high grass silently.

The group headed off toward the forest in the distance where the hoverkat was parked, marching in a straight line and keeping their eyes and ears peeled for trouble, remembering their run-ins with the wildlife on the trip here.

Just to be on the safe side, Feral in his warform, lead the way since he could detect trouble much faster than any of them.

They were halfway across the savannah, when Feral froze in his tracks. Everyone followed his example, staying absolutely still until he gave them the okay.

Feral had detected a strong musky scent very close. He had no idea what it was since he hadn't been trained to identify different animal scents. His sharp ears twitched and turned nervously as he tried to hear the creature in the tall grass.

Suddenly the wind shifted and he caught a familiar whiff coming from behind and to the left of their back trail.......prey......some form of deer. They were caught between a hunting predator and its prey. Not a good place to be.

Wasting no time, he immediately took his tiger form and roared. Instantly there were frightened cries of the prey and running sounds then the roar of an angry predator nearly on top of them.

A huge male lion appeared suddenly from the right of them and slammed into Feral's side. The pair rolled over and over a moment before jumping free of each other. The lion stared balefully at the intruder but it was also cautious due to being unfamiliar with this strange cat's scent. The tiger had more than a hundred or more pounds over the lion so after a few more minutes of huffing and hissing, the lion decided leaving was a better idea so he turned tail and ran swiftly away.

Feral shook himself all over then took off toward the prey scent. He was hungry and his primitive side wasn't willing to listen to its more intelligent side. Feral had learned not to try and dissuade it when it was this determined.

"Where is he going?" T-Bone asked no one in particular.

"Well, if I had to guess, buddy. Hunting. A cat that size can get a mega appetite and the smell of prey so close probably over ruled Feral's desire to ignore it. He told me his primitive side can get a bit bull-headed and he'd learned the hard way not to try and change its mind." Razor told them.

"Okay, so now what do we do?" His partner grumbled.

"I suggest we push on and be extra alert. Commander Feral can catch up to us easily since that form can move faster than us." Lt. Kofi urged them.

Everyone agreed that was a good idea and began to march forward again, this time Razor was in the lead, his ears being sharper than the average Kat.

They had traveled only ten minutes when they heard a major scuffle, growl, and screech followed by an eerie silence.

"Sounds like he caught dinner." T-Bone grunted laconically.

No one commented but they all thought the same. After traveling over two hours they were joined by Feral. His huge tiger form glided silently from the shielding grass to walk beside Razor, who had barely registered his presence just seconds before.

"Damn, you are really quiet, Commander." Razor hissed, a little annoyed that he'd been snuck up on so easily.

Feral just snorted and bobbed his head. An odd expression was on his huge tiger face that could have been interpreted as a smirk. He retained his tiger form and took the lead once more.

They finally reached the forest by early evening. Feral found the hoverkat by its metallic odor and led them right to it. He changed back to his normal form and quickly dressed again. Though they would have liked to have headed back to base, they decided trying to watch for obstacles and danger in the dark was foolhardy so they set up camp and had dinner.

After cleaning up and storing their things aboard the hoverkat, they used a tarp to cover the top of it while they slept beneath it. It made for a more comfortable bed than the ground and much safer from predators as well though they wouldn't come close due to the smell of modern metal and possibly, Feral. He had taken the precaution to scent mark a circle around their campsite to dissuade predators.

Their night was only a little disturbed by the loud night noises but in general, most got plenty of sleep. With the dawns early light, they were up eating breakfast and thirty minutes later, speeding across the savannah back to base.

Dirty, tired and looking forward to some hot meals, soft beds and a little down time when they returned to base, they were glad to reach the edge of the forest they had entered some days ago.

T-Bone halted the hoverkat while they waited for Lt. Kofi to contact Commander Emeko so he could create a distraction that would allow them to arrive unseen. They only had to wait about twenty minutes when they heard and saw a ruckus occur a distance off.

"Go!" The lieutenant barked.

T-Bone quickly did as ordered, following the same path they had taken on the trip out, only it was much faster this time since the tabby knew where he was going. They arrived at the open hangar door within ten minutes and were quickly inside, the doors closing behind them.

"Welcome back!" The commander greeted them, warmly as they climbed out of the hoverkat. "I trust your mission was successful?"

"Yes. Very successful and now step two can begin." Feral said with a grin of triumph.

"Ah, that is very good news. Come, I've had dinner ordered for you all. Let's go to your temporary quarters and talk." Commander Emeko said grinning widely as he lead them across the hangar floor to the temporary bivouac he'd set up for them.

Sighing gratefully, Feral and the rest trailed after him.


	14. Chapter 13, Going to War, Pt V

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

Chapter 13: Going to War, Part V

After a really decent night's sleep, everyone gathered to eat breakfast.

"So what's the plan for today?" One of the special ops guys asked.

"Nothing. You guys rest and relax. This next step is simply recording the frequencies of the poor smucks that are being sent on missions. So T-Bone and I will be haunting the airport where Commander Emeka said the peace symbol guys were seen." Razor told them as he grabbed some more bacon and toast.

"I'll be going with you!" Feral said, eating from a plate filled with steak, toast, sausage, bacon, eggs and a huge glass of milk.

"Huh! Why?" T-Bone asked, opting for cereal, toast and some bacon while staring at Feral's huge meal in amazement. "You hungry, Commander?"

"Higher metabolism. Have to eat more protein and carbs to stay satisfied." Feral grunted. "As for going, I can identify the ones altered and save you time wasted testing the wrong Kats."

"That's certainly true. Don't want to be bothering if it's just a supply run or something." Razor agreed.

"Makes sense to me too." T-Bone conceded.

They made quick work of their meal and went off to look for Commander Emeka. This was when they encountered their first delay. Emeka was at his office in the city and they had to wait for him break away discretely to visit them.

They ended up watching the news to see what the world picture was like since they'd been out of touch for a few days.

The reports were grim. Another assassination had occurred bringing the total to five. There were only two more dictatorships left. Also, several more environmental bombings had occurred along with some major economic damages perpetuated on no less than eleven more countries that included the ones that had lost their leaders.

"This is getting out of paw!" T-Bone gritted angrily.

"It's part of his overall plan to take over. Reduce the world to helpless immobility then swoop in to restore order his way." Feral rumbled, a deep fury glowing from his eyes.

"It just bites that we can't just go in and grab this guy!" T-Bone muttered bitterly.

"Ditto, buddy!" Razor growled, outraged by all the chaos this madkat had caused all in the name of creating a better world. 'What a joke!' He thought, furious.

"We'll get him!" Feral said flatly, his expression promising retribution.

T-Bone felt a shiver slip over him at that look on Feral's face. The Kat had more reason to want to rend this guy limb from limb than anyone here. He had a feeling that once they moved on the hidden leader, Feral and the other prisoners wouldn't leave much left to take to trial or even bury.

An hour later, Commander Emeka arrived and hurried to their side.

"Sorry I was delayed. What is it I can help you with?" He asked.

"We needed to be notified as soon as one of those peace jets arrives. It makes no sense to sit at the airport and take the chance of being spotted when you already have watchers in place." Razor explained.

"Oh certainly. I'll instruct my people to notify Lt. Kofi the moment one is cleared to land. I'd just received a report before I left my office and there's been no request for landing by them today. Once more it is a waiting game. I take it you've been watching the newscasts?" He asked heavily.

"Yes." Feral said tightly. "Anything new, beyond what we've just watched?"

Emeka grimaced. "Just another refinery being bombed and a civil war beginning in the Regmurr Province. That brings the total of countries in complete anarchy and civil unrest to six."

A deep rumbling growl made everyone startle and stare at Feral who was showing a little too much fang.

"Easy, Feral. Save your ire for the creep when we get him." T-Bone murmured, reaching a paw out to the tom's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze to sooth him. He could feel the tension in the body under his paw. Feral was easily the most dangerous thing in the room right now.

The tabby didn't want to think about all those other warriors turned animals that were just as dangerous. Fitting back into society was going to be a major hurdle for these abused Kats especially if a cure couldn't be found.

"Yes, well, all we can do is wait until another of these peace planes land. I'm sorry to say, no pattern has been detected in their arrivals and departures. They've made sure to make it very random." Commander Emeka said unhappily. "Their last visit here was over a week ago."

"Then all we can do is wait. Thanks." T-Bone told him, eyeing Feral who was brooding silently to himself.

Commander Emeka nodded and left. They had nothing to do now but rest and relax. T-Bone could already see that was going to be very hard on Feral. Some two hours had past since Emeka left and two worried pair of eyes watched as Feral gradually got more and more agitated as he paced in front of the hangar doors.

"I don't like the looks of that, buddy?" He murmured to Razor.

Razor had been tinkering with his equipment, insuring everything was in working order for when they needed it but raised his head at his partner's comment and eyed the pacing tom.

"I agree. He's getting a bit too restless, probably his tiger side. I have an idea...." He said suddenly, getting up and walking casually up to the agitated tom.

"Commander! Perhaps you should go on walk-about for some exercise. It'll ease the inner beast in you and make you better able to handle the mission. We'll notify you if anything changes." Razor suggested soothingly.

Feral paused in his pacing to stare at the SWAT Kat. Razor could almost see the tiger side of him peeking out. It sent a shiver down his spine.

"Perhaps you're right. I.....feel trapped and after what I've been through, it makes me very strung out and tense." Feral admitted.

Razor nodded. "So go and run for a bit. A tiger isn't out of place here, fortunately, so no one would be surprised if they saw one."

"No one sees me unless I allow them too." Feral rumbled.

"I believe that." The smaller SWAT Kat said easily.

After another moments hesitation, Feral began to shuck his coveralls. Razor went to the small access door and peered out to check the area. No one was about, luckily. He turned back and found a huge tiger nearly pressing against him. Swallowing nervously, he made a 'its safe' gesture with his paw and stepped out of the way to allow the big cat to slip outside. In less than two minutes, Feral was out of sight.

Razor shook his head. "Damn! He wasn't kidding. I can't see him at all." Sighing he closed the door, paused to pick up Feral's discarded coveralls, then returned to his work.

T-Bone stared at him questioningly when he sat back down at the table.

"Just told him to go out and get some fresh air. We'd get a hold of him if we needed to." Razor grunted then turned his attention back to his work.

T-Bone's only response was to raise an eyebrow in mild surprise at Razor's solution and relief then went to join the rest of the team presently watching a movie to pass the time.

Outside, Feral quickly crossed the tarmac till he reached the high grass on the other side. Once he was out of sight, he slowed down and sniffed the air. Razor had been right, this was what he'd needed. He had been feeling dangerously closed in at the hangar and the last thing he wanted was to harm any of his fellow team members if he lost control of his wilder side.

Shaking himself briskly, he trotted through the high grass. He soon crossed paths with some prey animals and was soon stalking them for the exercise.

He had gone some five miles and ran a small herd of deer into a frenzied panic before heading toward the smell of water. He came upon a small pond and drank his fill. He was getting hungry again despite having eaten an hour ago. The pond carried the scent of many different prey animals.

He picked up the scent of wild pigs and followed it for about a mile before finding a sow with a litter. Going into stalk mode, he carefully snuck up on the sow then lunged. The piglets squealed in terror and fled behind their mother who turned and presented her formidable tusks at him. He reared back and carefully circled her, feinting every moment or two, looking for an opening. She was an old sow and very good. After dancing around her for some fifteen minutes and nearly getting gored once, he finally gave it up.

He wasn't that hungry and she had given him a great deal of exercise and stress relief. So he left her alone and padded off to look for easier prey. It didn't take him long to find the deer herd again. This time he was luckier and took down a small doe.

After his meal, he made his way back to the pond to drink and wash up. He indulged himself in swimming for a little while, scaring off all the animals from the site. The peace and quiet soothed him. He swam to the shore once more and shook off the water then trotted away, heading back toward the hangar.

Once he reached the edge of the paved area, he halted, still hiding in the grass and laid down to take a nap, still not willing to go back inside and be closed in.

The sun was low in the sky when his alert went off. He lunged to his feet and lumbered across the tarmac at a fast gallop. T-Bone and Razor were loaded and ready to go by the time he reached the door and they let him in. They waited patiently until he changed form and put on his coveralls.

Commander Emeka arrived with Lt. Kofi. They arrived in a van marked with a local airline that was normally seen in the area they were interested in. Kofi was wearing coveralls bearing the logo of the airline.

"A peace symbol jet just landed and was taxiing to its assigned position when we left. Lt. Kofi will go with you to prevent any problems with the security in the area. Godspeed and good luck my friends." He told them.

They nodded their thanks then slipped outside and into the van. One of the Commander Emeka's soldiers was the driver and they were soon hurrying away to the far side of the airport.

They arrived in good time, the jet they were interested in was just shutting down its engines. The driver took them to a hangar office of the airline they were using as cover and where Commander Emeka had set up an observation post. The van parked sideways at the door to the office.

While the driver remained in his seat and acted as security and lookout, Lt. Kofi got out and went to the back of the van and pretended he was checking something in the back.

Razor used the lieutenant's body to hide his movements. "Grab one of the boxes and put it in your left paw."

Lt. Kofi did as asked and waited. They'd already discussed what they would do when they arrived at the site. Razor reached past the lieutenant, using his body as a shield, to put a powerful recording mike and surveillance camera on the outside of the van, taping it in place. He quickly withdrew out of sight.

Kofi picked up a clipboard and carried the empty box into the office. He would appear to be making a delivery. Everything was done to make it look like nothing out of the ordinary was going on near this hangar. Commander Emeka had ensured regular deliveries were being made by the company and that its employees were kept in the dark about the special group of people manning a small part of their offices.

While the lieutenant was gone, T-Bone and Feral helped Razor set up his gear and got ready for whatever was going to happen next.

Lt. Kofi, came back out again, opened the van doors and pulled two more boxes toward him while giving them an update from the watchers.

"Nothing new to report. They have not been able to find out if this is a supply run or a passenger pickup." He said quietly then looked out of the corner of his eye a moment. "They are lowering the cargo doors."

"Okay, better go inside now and stay there. Watch the plane and if they have finished doing what their going to do then bring some boxes out again and we'll skedaddle before we've been here too long." Feral rumbled.

"Yes, sir." Lt. Kofi said then closed the doors to the van before heading back to the office with his load.

On the closed circuit TV, they watched as a pallet of supplies were unloaded. Each of them felt let down thinking it was a supply run after all. They continued to watch as the supplies were loaded on a big canvas covered truck.

Suddenly, a small van raced up to park next to the loading ramp. The driver and his passenger jumped out and went to the rear to open the doors. Out stepped six Kats dressed in coveralls.

Feral went tense. "Can you get us a closer image, Razor?"

"Yeah," Razor said quietly as he worked his keyboard. Moments later the image zoomed in just as the six Kats were walking up the ramp.

Feral hissed softly. "It's them."

Razor had already guessed it was the enslaved kats and had already been recording any frequencies coming from that direction. The signals he'd gotten were quickly cut off once the six Kats had entered the plane but hopefully he'd gotten enough to identify what they were looking for.

The supply truck rumbled off as did the van while the cargo ramp closed back up. Time to leave. Lt. Kofi exited the building with two boxes and loaded them in the back, trying to appear as casual as he could. He took his seat on the passenger side once more than they were off.

"I wish we could follow those trucks." T-Bone grumbled.

"Wouldn't do you any good. We've tried that and discovered he has a security system set up out of sight. If anyone is following the truck or van, guards come out of hiding and harry the trackers keeping them occupied until their vehicles have made their escape." Lt. Kofi said flatly. "We couldn't even capture the guards because they would commit suicide before being captured."

"Damn! This guy is really organized and has some extreme loyalty going on with his troops." T-Bone said, shaking his head.

"That's why he's not been caught yet." Lt. Kofi said grimly.

"His luck and planning has run out now!" Feral growled.

"Yeah, we're closing in. Now we have to hope I got the frequency we need to take this guy down." Razor said coldly.

Everyone agreed silently to that as they raced back to their hangar.


	15. Chapter 14, Storming the Compound, Pt I

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 14:** Storming the Compound, Part I

When they reached the hangar, Razor hurried to his work area. T-Bone and Feral helped carry his equipment from the van then aided the smaller Kat in setting back up.

Now it was a waiting game once more as Razor poured through all the frequencies he'd collected and tried to tease out the ones that pointed to the bombs. He'd already found the ones that ran the security of the compound and the robots.

Everyone else on the team kept quiet and out of the SWAT Kat's area to insure he could work undisturbed.

It took Razor a very long two hours to finally segregate the frequency from all the other's he'd collected then compared it to the signals he collected at the compound. He found a match that couldn't be anything but the bomb signal. Then he spent another two hours finding a frequency that would jam it.

Tired but triumphant, he carefully recorded the frequency on a disk then went to give everyone the good news.

The team was going over their plans for the strike. They picked it apart looking for any problem areas and solving them now and planning for the unexpected.

"We've got him!" Razor announced.

There were cheers and looks of grim excitement. They were now going to take this guy out at last.

Commander Emeko was summoned and when he arrived the planning for the attack was laid out in detail.

However, there was one thing that would force them to delay their attack.

"We can't move until those six that just left return." Feral growled, in an uncompromising voice. "The missions are always less than twenty-four hours, so these guys will be back within a day. Once we see them picked up and being returned to the compound then we can strike."

"What if they send another group out on the plane the first return on?" Asked one of the special force's officers.

Feral shook his head but it was Lt. Kofi who answered. "No. Every time we've seen them send out a group, they do nothing else apparently because it could attract attention."

"That's good to know. Alright, then I will use this time to prepare my strike force. See you all later." Commander Emeko said grimly then left to make his own arrangements.

It was a long twenty-four hours. It was just after ten a.m. the next day when they received the report of the peace plane returning. An hour later, they were notified the six passengers had returned and were now on their way back to the compound.

The insertion group had packed the hoverkat and by one p.m. they were ready to leave. As before, Commander Emeko set off a distraction and they slipped away from the hangar, reaching the high grass in minutes. They were soon zooming through the heavy forest and mindful of the last time they kept their eyes open for wild animals.

It had been decided the special forces group with Feral, the SWAT Kats and Lt. Kofi would sneak in the way they had gone when they did the recon. After Razor disarmed the security system and the robots, they would slip in and find the pregnant females and extricate them.

The special forces team with Lt. Kofi in command would help the females to escape out the way the insertion team had come in though going over the wall and a mountain side would be a bit risky and difficult for the females. But it was thought this would ensure they would get out much more safely since it would not be the direction the security force of the compound would expect.

After the females had been safely taken away, Feral would summon Commander Emeko's strike force. They would land troops to ferret out the minions of the leader and clean out the nest. His scientists would come in next to collect the data necessary to try and return the victims back to normal.

Feral and the SWAT Kats goal was to find the head of the operation and take him out. As for the altered Kats, Razor would insure the signal was interrupted by a jamming signal he'd transmit continuously. The jammer would be on his person so it was important he was protected from being taken out.

Feral hoped to find the Kat that had helped him escape, if he was still alive. The information the Kat held in his head would be invaluable to the success of the operation and the trial afterward.

Also they planned on gathering all the altered Kats together and quickly removing their bombs before they left the compound, for their safety. Their team medic made sure to pack what he required to perform this minor surgery and an EOD specialist would be by his side to remove each bomb and hold them with Razor's jammer until they could dispose of them safely.

The trip to the mountain was made in silent anticipation. No one felt like talking. The trip this time was done a bit faster and only one near mishap occurred.

Instead of parking the hoverkat in the forest as before and walking the rest of the way through the savannah to the mountain, they planned on taking it all the way there so the pregnant females wouldn't have to walk much further. The mountain climb was going to be hard enough on them.

It was only late afternoon when they reached the edge of the forest. They would have to wait until dark before going across the open grassland where a plane could see them.

They settled down to wait, taking care of personal needs and eating a meal. It was while they were resting that trouble came stalking them out of the forest. Some of them decided to sit under a tree while the rest of the team stayed in the hoverkat.

Nearly dusk is when most predators begin to hunt. A leopard had set a herd of deer to running only a few yards from the waiting team. The thunder of their hooves startled the ones on the ground who jumped to their feet in a hurry and made for the hovercraft.

Feral and the SWAT Kats had been standing on the edge of the forest looking over the high grass toward the mountain, each in their own thoughts. When the commotion started, they whipped around.

Feral hurriedly altered to his war form and ran to where the stampeding deer were bearing down on them. He took a stand before the charging creatures and roared loudly. There was a squeal of fear as the deer nearly ran him over before wildly veering to the left away from Feral, heading pell-mell into the grass. Behind them was the leopard who slid to an ungraceful stop some ten feet from Feral. It stood there frozen, hissing, its fur raised until Feral gave a low threatening growl. It tore away and vanished in the trees.

It took some minutes before the cacophony of racket created by the deer and other jungle animals disturbed by the aborted hunt, to calm down. Everyone relaxed once more but stayed on guard.

Feral returned to his normal form, clothes now thoroughly ripped again. He ignored it and decided not to change them yet. He had spare clothing in their baggage.

As darkness approached, the night filled with the sound of predators on the hunt. There was no such thing as a quiet night on the savannah. The team loaded up and they were off once more.

Feral had altered to his war form and sat next to T-Bone. He kept his nose and ears turned to the night wind trying to help them avoid anymore complications on their route. It took them only thirty minutes to reach the foothills of the mountain they'd climbed before.

With his excellent night vision, Feral spotted a cubby they could hide the hoverkat in. They quickly disembarked and loaded up with their equipment. Using the same method as before with a slight difference, Feral went up first with a glovatrix since he could see better and was far stronger than all of them.

Very quickly they scaled the mountain until they were at their original observation post. While Lt. Kofi reported to his Commander that they had arrived, Razor unloaded his equipment with T-Bone's help. In very little time, the cinnamon tom had his signal interrupter set up. He didn't turn it on as yet until they were ready to head out.

All their excess equipment was left in the cave for their return. Everyone traveled light but were well armed. They all went to the ledge and listened to Feral as he described the route they had to take, the one he'd used to check on the occupants.

"Sounds like we should repel down rather than trust climbing in the dark then rope together to cross the bridge of stone." Razor decided grimly.

"I agree. Even with my special abilities, it was a very tricky climb." Feral conceded.

"Alright then, get set for a repel." T-Bone said. There were nods all around. Razor turned on his disruptor. By the time they arrived at the compound, security and robots would be incapacitated.

Once more Feral went down first and provided the anchor as everyone repelled down. It was a very narrow ledge they were standing on as they roped themselves together for the perilous crossing of the stone bridge.

Feral chose to take tiger form as he led point with a rope harness around his chest. The team followed him on their four paws to insure they wouldn't fall. It was very slow going.

Meanwhile within the compound

"And how are our breeders this evening?" Darius asked, pleased with how well his plan was coming along. Very soon he'd be able to step in and offer his solution to solving the anarchy and chaos that was going on in various countries. It would take another six months but it would be well worth it.

"They are doing well, sir." Dr. Welker said. "They are unhappy, of course, but their pregnancies are so far uncomplicated and the foetus' are healthy."

"Good! Excellent news. And our soldiers?" Darius asked, studying the graphs spewing from a machine.

"All are in excellent health though still not swayed to your plan. Nearly all are very unhappy and rebellious." Dr. Welker reported, frowning.

"Ahh, don't let that concern you. I didn't actually think they would come around to my way of thinking that's why I'm breeding my own loyal army." Darius said, smiling complacently.

"A very good idea it was, sir." Welker said, nodding like the yes Kat he was.

"So, finish up your work, doctor and get some rest. Tomorrow is another busy day." Darius told him then turned and left for his quarters.

The compound was already dark in the holding cells and breeding quarters, dinner time already over and the early bed time being imposed.

Sighing in satisfaction, Darius Mobar entered his quarters and poured himself a brandy before preparing for bed. Dr. Welker continued working for an hour more and was closing his computers when an alarm went off on one of his screens.

Frowning in concern, he went to see what kind of alarm had gone off. Quickly searching his systems, he discovered to his horror, the entire security grid had gone down and the robot staff was off line. Frantically, he quickly did a computer search which was very time consuming.

While the doctor searched for the glitch, the insertion team was just finishing crossing the stone bridge and were now beginning their climb up to the compound's walls.

Scaling the wall, they stopped in a group and waited while Razor determined where the altered Kats were. It was theorized by what Feral had told them, that the altered Kats were being kept at one end of the place and the pregnant females at the other.

No knowing the full schematics of the place was hampering but Feral had only been in certain sections and that was all they had to work with. Everything was a guess. Splitting into teams they headed off.

Razor had indicated the largest concentration of signals for the bombs was on the right side of the complex, fortunately they had entered on the correct side. The SWAT Kats with one half of the team headed for the altered Kats. The medic and EOD specialist were with them.

Feral and Lt. Kofi with the other half of the team made for the left side of the complex. Nothing accosted them as they found entry doors and broke in. The wing Feral and the lieutenant had come in was in dimness lit only by a light strip running along one side of the hallway.

They moved quickly but silently. The first robot they ran into, stood guard before a door some ten feet into the facility. As they hoped, it was not functioning. Moving past it, their safe cracker specialist broke the security door pad and got them in. Beyond the door was a long hallway with many doors.

Just inside of the door was another robot standing beside a control board. Frowning, Feral studied the panel then went down to one of the doors. They were sliding panels so that meant.........he came back to the control board and flipped all the switches.

All the doors slid open. For a long moment nothing happened, Feral sort of expected that and went to the first door and saw a gravid female staring back at him in shocked surprise. She had been laying on a bed in the simply furnished room.

Smiling in relief, he asked quietly, "Ready to blow this place?"

She smiled excitedly and got up from her bed and stepped out of the room. The rest of the team was already coaxing females from their rooms and hustling them back to the exit.

Being soldiers, the females kept silent and waited for orders. They all recognized the dark furred tom even in the very dim hallway.

"Listen up!" Feral spoke just loud enough to be heard. "We're going to take you to a part of the wall we came over. The way down the mountain is treacherous but it was thought this would give you a better chance of escaping safely. Lt. Kofi here is going to be leading you to safety. Follow orders, be alert on the rocky areas, use your extra senses to guide you, the training you received and I will see you all when we are safe once more. Good luck!" He said.

Nodding their understanding, the females quickly paired up and followed Lt Kofi and his part of the team back outside. Feral and the safe cracker went on, hoping to meet up with the rest of their insertion team.

The SWAT Kats and their team weren't as lucky as Feral. When they entered the wing where the altered Kats were, they encountered real guards. It was a messy fight as they tried to take them out without making too much noise. The robots were shut down so they didn't have to contend with those.

The hallway was a gory mess by the time they pushed their way through the inner locked door that Razor broke into. This lead to a hall of clear enclosures just as Feral had described them. In each was a male sleeping on a mat at the back of each cell. It would take far too long to break into each one.

Looking around, they finally spotted the overhead observation area. One of the team found the elevator that lead upstairs. It held them all and they prepared themselves for whatever greeted them when the doors snapped open some minutes later.

The elevator was located at the back of the long narrow room. The view of the rest of the room was hidden by huge mainframe power units. They stepped out, the SWAT Kats in the lead, and made their way past the towering mainframes. At the end, they could see a long arc of computers and control consoles. Above them was a bay of windows that looked down on the prisoners. Over to one side, a slim, dark gray tom, dressed in a lab coat was muttering angrily to himself as he tapped frantically on his keyboard.

Razor could easily guess what had him upset. This guy must have discovered the security was down but hadn't set off the alarm as he tried to find the problem himself. Smiling grimly to himself, the small SWAT Kat slipped up behind the tom and snatched him from behind in a choke hold.

"No need to try and find the problem. I'm the reason you can't fix it." He hissed into the terrified tom's ear. "Now, if you want to live, you'll tell us how to open the prisoner's cells."

The tom frantically clawed at Razor's arm helplessly. The SWAT Kat tightened his hold which made the doctor stop his struggles immediately. Carefully, Razor released the tom's neck but kept a paw on his arm in a viselike grip.

Swallowing convulsively, Dr. Welker stared in dismay at the sight of the strangely garbed males and the obviously military look of the others.

"Well?" The bigger of the costumed pair growled, moving closer, fists clenched threateningly.

"That panel there, master switch on the left." Welker stuttered. They frightened him but he knew they would never leave here alive because of the bombs in the prisoners. He hoped enough of these hooligans died before all the prisoners were lost.

One of the team went to the indicated panel and flipped the switches. Next to it was a mike and he spoke into it.

"Listen up! This is a rescue. We know about your problem with the bombs. If you will come out of your cells, go to your right and on outside. A medic and EOD specialist are waiting to remove your hardware."

Welker wilted unhappily. They knew! But how did they find out? He was at a loss as to who had discovered them and who it was attacking. He wished he could warn Darius.

With quick precision, the prisoners exited their cells and headed outside. Over sixty-five males were released.

Razor was concerned they wouldn't have enough time to get them all disarmed before more guards arrived to deal with them. He couldn't do anything himself since he had to stay nearby to keep the bombs jammed. But first there was something more they needed. He shoved his prisoner toward one of his team and went to a master computer and began typing away.

"What are you doing, Razor?" T-Bone came to his side and asked while keeping a sharp eye for any trouble.

"Calling up the schematics of this place so we can stop running around blind. Ah hah! Here we go!" Razor crowed then sent something to the printer. Then he began to search for something else. Grinning ferociously he typed madly for some minutes then waited looking tensely at a computer tower beside him. Moments later, he pulled a disk out and carefully put it in a case and into an inner pocket of his G-suit.

"So, what was that all about?" His partner sighed.

"This is everything concerning this guy's plans and all the data on his project. This disk is worth its weight in gold." Razor said grimly, tapping his pocket. "I've set a virus into the system which will corrupt everything but just to be safe, we'll wait about five minutes to let it run to auxiliary units then destroy this whole place."

"Roger!"

Five minutes later, after sending the team back down the elevator with their prisoner then having the elevator sent back to them, they stood in the car itself and sent matchstick missiles into every console before letting the doors close and going back down to the main floor.

Once they were downstairs and above them was exploding satisfactorily, Razor told T-Bone, "You'd better go find Feral, buddy!"

T-Bone frowned unhappily. Separating from his partner had been the one thing he'd not liked about the plan but knew it couldn't be helped. Taking the rest of the team, he set out to find Feral and the leader of this place, carrying the precious schematics that would help them to do so.


	16. Chapter 15, Storming the Compound, Pt II

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 15:** Storming the Compound, Part II

Pushing through the complex, Feral encountered the first resistance by the few living guards the leader had. Since he was alone at the moment, he had to play duck and run a lot. He finally reached the area he remembered was where they had been gathered to have their bombs inserted and to be briefed on their new life.

He managed to keep ahead of his pursuit as he fled through the large holding area then pushed on into the hall with the offices where the mission briefings were held. He managed to lock the door to the hall then systematically searched each room. All were empty at this time of night. He reached the end and carefully opened the door and peered into another hall that ended abruptly in a sharp turn to the right.

Seeing no one, he quickly locked the door he came through then ran down the hall, pausing at the end. Suddenly the whole building shook hard and the few lights that were on, blinked.

'Well there went our quiet entry.' He thought then moved on and at the end of this hallway, he ran into a large number of Kats in various stages of dress. They looked angry and concerned. The noise of the attacks had caused them to pop out of their rooms, this was obviously the personal wing where the leader's employees lived.

They saw him but most weren't armed and those that were, had their ability to fire blocked by their compatriots.

"Get back in your rooms or you're dead meat!" Feral growled dangerously, his eyes glittered.

The more hardened of them still looked like they weren't going to go down without a fight. Feral instantly took his war form and roared while still holding his laser pistol.

Frightened eyes greeted this display then a mass evacuation to their rooms occurred in the blink of an eye. Growling with pleasure, Feral went along the hall and welded each door shut with his laser.

Meanwhile, T-Bone had dashed down the long aisle of cells, ducking the debris spraying out from the exploding observation room. He finally reached the far end, blew the door and ran down another corridor.

The ground shook under him from a particularly powerful blast from behind him. He grinned ferally. The war was truly on now. He continued to run down seemingly endless corridors before running into a group of robots and guards. The robots were, of course, non-functioning but the guards used them as a barrier to prevent him entry to this part of the complex.

He wasn't certain what they were guarding, but he was hoping it was their leader. He sent a spray of missiles down the corridor to the wide eye horror of the guards who turned tail and ran. The robots became so much junk in seconds as did much of the corridor.

T-Bone groaned, 'Whoops! A little too enthusiastic. Now I'll have to find another way around." He growled unhappily. He took out the schematics once more and learned to his annoyance that he had indeed blocked the corridor he'd wanted. Well at least he kept the leader from escaping this direction. He studied the map and took off once more back the way he'd come.

Coming from the other direction, Feral found a side corridor and ran down it. This place was a ridiculous warren. He wished he had a map of some kind. Turning down yet another featureless corridor, he stopped at an intersection and took his bearings. It seemed strange he wasn't running into anyone by now.

Suddenly he heard a commotion coming down a corridor to the left of him. A large group with an older Kat in the center came hurrying toward him. He recognized that face. He would never forget it.

But he wasn't in a very good position at the moment to do much more than get killed. He ducked around the corner then began firing to keep the group confined. There were cries of fear and anger as well as bullets flying his direction.

Following the map, T-Bone was about to reach the other side of the corridor he'd destroyed. As he got closer, he heard guns firing. He picked up the pace and arrived across the corridor from Feral.

"Why fancy finding you here, Feral." He said laconically.

A brief look of relief crossed Feral's face at seeing reinforcements. In the heavy gravely tones of his war form he asked, "What's the status?"

"The males are being disarmed as we speak and after downloading all the data on a disk, Razor had us destroy the whole computer room. He gave me a map of the complex. I...um...accidentally overdid it at the other end of this corridor and collapsed it. They can't get out except this way." T-Bone reported briskly, as he fired some tarpedoes and nets down the corridor to keep the guards busy.

Feral nodded, pleased at the news even the 'mistake' T-Bone had actually benefitted them instead. He peered around the corner carefully. Most of the guards were trying to clear the tar from others of their number and get loose of the netting.

Smirking, Feral pulled back and looked at the SWAT Kat. "Excellent work! In the center of that group is the leader. Shall we take them down and get him?" Feral growled, showing lots of fang.

T-Bone shivered at the pure look of animal delight Feral was displaying. He really couldn't blame him......but..... "Maybe you better let me get the guy and you take out the guards. You want him dead but we gotta take him back alive for trial and......"

Feral roared in fury and nearly charged T-Bone but halted himself and panted. T-Bone swallowed.

'Whoah! Is he ever furious!' "Yeah, I know it really sucks and I'd be the first to let you go ahead but you would never forgive yourself for indulging in revenge." T-Bone said carefully.

Feral rumbled, his eyes glowed but he finally nodded then took his tiger form and charged down the corridor straight at the guards. T-Bone cursed and raced behind him, firing more tarpedoes, electro nets and octopus missiles as fast as he acquired a target

The tiger plowed into the group that was still standing after the barrage and took them forcefully to the ground then stood over them with dripping fangs and a willingness to rip their throats, glittering in his eyes.

Outside the complex, Razor, the medic and the EOD specialist were busy getting each prisoner free of their bombs as fast as they dared. Once they managed to finally take the last one out, the bombs were carefully collected in a metal container they'd found then Razor threw it up in the air, followed by an octopus missile that sent the whole thing high into the air then sent a matchhead missile up to strike it causing it to blow up spectacularly.

The light from the explosion illuminated Commander Emeko's helicopter squadron just arriving. They landed in the large workout yard and disgorged their troops quickly. Razor had sent a quick radio call to the Commander to come ahead when he was taking out the computer banks and now they were here.

The Commander ran up to Razor to get an update on what was going on. Razor told him the prisoners were all free and should be taken out of here. The females were already out of the compound and on their way to the mountain outpost.

Emeko nodded in relief and ordered the prisoners to the choppers. Many refused, wanting to take out their former torturers but they were firmly over ruled and forced onto the choppers. Soon they were safely away while Emeko and his troops poured into the complex using the map Razor had copied to make the search easier and faster.

Away from the battle about to take place, Lt. Kofi was helping to repel each female down the steep side of the mountain. It was time consuming and very dangerous because of the females unwieldy conditions. The only thing that helped was the fact they were all in excellent condition and well trained.

They knew how to repel and mountain climb and made no complaint over the difficulty of the climb. Finally, after nearly an hour, all the females were down the mountain and being roped together for the crossing of the stone bridge. Because the females were lighter than the males, it was thought they could make this crossing much easier.

Lt. Kofi was very glad they had been right. There were no problems getting to the far side and soon the team was repelling the females up to the observation post. Thirty minutes later, all twenty females were resting and drinking tea in the small cave, very glad to be free though still unhappy to be unwillingly pregnant.

Over his radio, Lt Kofi learned of how the take over of the complex was going. His commander had arrived and the prisoners were on their way back to base. There was no info on the whereabouts of T-Bone and Feral as yet. Also no one knew whether the leader had been found. He kept his fingers crossed the madkat hadn't escaped them.

Leading the charge into the complex, Razor was with Commander Emeko as they ran down a main corridor. He tapped his helmet.

"T-Bone, where are you and what's happening?" He asked on the run.

T-Bone heard his partner but couldn't stop to talk. Though he and Feral had taken out the small detachment in the hall and had the leader in custody, a sudden attack by another group of soldiers had trapped them in the corridor.

The soldiers were careful not to hit their leader but would not negotiate nor allow their enemies to leave. It was now a stalemate and Feral was becoming really unstable. The tiger wouldn't heed him and before he knew it, Feral was charging the soldiers.

Covering him as best he could, T-Bone tried to keep the tiger from getting perforated. Feral was furious and hated being trapped. His tiger side refused to listen and finally shoved him aside in his mind and charged down the corridor.

When the first bullet bit into his side and burned across a rib, the tiger screamed in pain allowing Feral to regain control. Already committed, he ducked and slide his body on its side altering it to his war form, making a slimmer and smaller target. It also startled the soldiers enough to allow him to begin taking them down. He had half of the Kats knocked out when T-Bone rushed to his side and finished off the rest.

Frowning, Feral looked around and found there were no more targets then looked back where they had been. The leader was ignomiously glued to the corridor wall with tar and was squirming uselessly trying to get free.

Sighing in relief, only then did he realize his side hurt. He put a paw to it and came away with blood on his paw.

T-Bone hissed in dismay. He pulled out his first air kit and quickly wrapped Feral's rib to try and stop the bleeding.

"Sit down for crud sake before you fall down." He snapped at Feral.

"It's not that bad!" Feral growled, refusing.

"Oh no? Well you're certainly going to feel it when the adrenaline burns off." T-Bone snorted finishing his first aid.

Feral just shrugged. Only then did T-Bone finally realize his partner was still trying to reach him. Tapping his helmet, he responded.

"I'm here, Razor!"

"Finally, are you okay? Where's Feral? Have you found the leader?" Razor asked in rapid fire fashion. It sounded like he was running.

"Easy buddy. Feral is here with me. He's wounded but not too badly and yes, we have the leader." T-Bone said triumphantly.

"That's great buddy. Commander Emeko and I are running through the place to ferret out all the staff here. I've heard from Lt. Kofi, the females are safe at the observation post. We should just leave this for the Commander and go help Kofi get the she-kats to safety." Razor suggested.

"He's right! They aren't safe until they are down from the mountain and back at the base." Feral interrupted.

"What about him?" T-Bone pointed at the leader.

Feral's eyes glittered. "As much as I want to carry him off with us, I fear the females will want a piece of him for what he did to them."

"Ohh, right...bad idea....so I guess we wait for Commander Emeko to get here and take charge of him." T-Bone said.

"What did he say, T-Bone?" Razor asked, not having heard Feral. T-Bone repeated it.

"Umph....yeah.....he's right. We should be there in just a few minutes. See you soon." Razor said then clicked off.

"Well, we've done it!" T-Bone grinned happily.

Feral cocked his huge head at T-Bone then let his jaw drop in a huge grin full of teeth. "Yeah we did!"


	17. Chapter 16, Aftermath, Pt I

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

Chapter 16: Aftermath, Part I

While they waited for Razor and Commander Emeko to reach them, Feral walked up to the leader and glared at him.

Darius Mobar stared at Feral a long moment. "I should have known you hadn't died. You were one of the top soldiers and yet you still remained the most stubborn." He said coldly.

Feral growled and snapped his jaws just inches from Darius' face. The older Kat flinched but didn't look away.

"You did this to me! I had no choice in the matter and for what? Some kind of pipe dream of peace?" Feral hissed furiously.

T-Bone came closer and watched Feral carefully. There was every chance the old fool could goad Feral into killing him and he had to prevent that.

"Easy Commander.....leave him be. You're angry enough to kill him and that's not what we want." He said carefully.

Feral turned his face to T-Bone and hissed but the SWAT Kat didn't move.

Mobar studied the powerful tom in the odd costume. "Who are you?" He asked curiously.

T-Bone frowned and stared coldly at the one who had caused so much misery. "I'm called T-Bone."

"Aaah.....one of the SWAT Kats. Changed your costume hmmm? You were on my list of soldiers but my capture teams were unable to find you. You would have been magnificent and might have given this one a run for his money." He purred thoughtfully.

T-Bone shuddered inside but didn't show it. 'Razor had been right. We were targets too.' He thought, a sick feeling in his stomach. He turned away from the prisoner unwilling to look at him any longer.

Suddenly, Emeko and Razor with several soldiers at their backs arrived. The Commander came close and stared at the apparently harmless looking old Kat.

"This is the one who caused all the hell suffered in the world?" He asked in disbelief.

"This is he!" Feral said flatly. "What is your name?" He demanded of the old Kat.

Darius eyed the tom coolly. "Darius Mobar. The world needed peace and that couldn't happen with those so called cruel and inhumane dictators running those countries. Since no one would bring them down, I felt someone had to."

"Oh yeah sure and now millions of innocent Kats are suffering from your so called 'cleansing'." Razor spat in disgust.

Darius pursed his lips closed and gave him a mulish look of annoyance. It was obvious no one understood his plans to help the world, they were just focused on the temporary hardship of those affected.

"Take him out of here. Do not let him out of your sight for a moment." Commander Emeko ordered his elite group of soldiers.

With Razor's aid, the prisoner was peeled from the wall, chained, then carried off to a chopper waiting to take him to a cell under heavy guard.

"Well we better be off. See you back at base." Razor told Emeko.

He nodded at them and waved as he started off down another corridor.

"Wait!" Feral shouted.

Emeko stopped and looked back at him inquiringly.

"The one that helped me......I'm hoping he's still here somewhere. He's a black furred tom with a white forelock and white front paws." Feral told him.

"We'll look for him, Commander. See you all later." Emeko told him then was gone.

Razor, T-Bone and Feral went down the opposite corridor. It took them some ten minutes to navigate the place before they were finally outside once more. The field was filled with choppers coming and going as they crossed the grounds heading for the part of the wall the females had gone over.

Using their glovatrix, the SWAT Kats repelled to the top of the wall then aided Feral up. Peering down into the darkness, they turned over the downward repel to Feral since they couldn't see a thing.

Once down, Feral changed to tiger and the SWAT Kats grabbed his fur and held on as he led them down the treacherous mountainside then carefully over the stone bridge. As they made their way up the opposite mountain side, Razor contacted Lt. Kofi, warning them of their arrival.

When they finally repelled to the cave, the females stood waiting, some with packs on their backs. Razor was surprised. They hadn't expected the females to carry the equipment the team had left.

"No, you don't have to carry our stuff, we can handle it." T-Bone objected.

One of them just shook her head and said, "No, its not a problem and this is valuable equipment. Think nothing of it."

Sighing in resignation and knowing they wouldn't win the argument, the males prepared for the descent.

Looking down the dark mountainside, Feral, T-Bone, Razor and Lt. Kofi discussed the best way to get the she-kats down safely.

"I'll go down first with the team. We will be the anchors while you and Kofi help each female start their descent." Feral decided.

"That works. Let's get started." Razor nodded.

Quickly, Feral and the rest of the team repelled down. Minutes later, they signaled for the females to be sent down. Using three lines, they were able to quickly repel all the she-kats without difficulty.

Some forty minutes later, they were carefully navigating through the rocks at the foot of the mountain reaching the hoverkat some ten minutes later. It was a bit tight since they had more passengers then when they'd left but they managed.

The ride back was peaceful. Some of the females spoke to each other in soft voices. Feral had ended up sitting next to T-Bone who was driving them back. He had spotted the she-kat he'd been forced to mate with and found himself unable to speak to her. He still felt ashamed of what had happened. She had given him a shy look earlier, before averting her eyes.

He listened to the voices behind him as Razor answered their many questions about what had happened in the world since their captivity. No one asked what had happened to them, that would wait until their debriefing.

It wasn't long before they finally reached the hangar headquarters. While they'd been gone, Commander Emeko had left orders to set up more sleeping areas for the returning hostages. When T-Bone pulled into the hangar, they were greeted with cheers and the freed males were right there with the soldiers doing the same.

The males came forward and helped the females off load then took them to the temporary sleeping area so they could clean up. Fresh clothes had been provided and food was being served as they poured back into the main area an hour later.

There were many looks of relief mixed with regret and anger as they finally got to speak with the males they had been incarcerated with.

Though still reluctant, Feral joined them at the tables. Many asked how he had escaped but before he would answer, he looked around to see if he find the pair he'd been sent out with on that mission. Seeing him searching among them, two males guessed why and came closer.

"What did he do to you when I disappeared?" Feral asked in concern.

They looked at each other a moment before one began to speak. "We were taken to be debriefed in the same room we'd been given our mission. A different Kat waited there for us and demanded to know what had happened to you. By not telling us, we were able to honestly say we didn't know. Unfortunately, they still beat us for some time trying to get a different story out of us but finally had to believe what we told them." The one who was the cheetah reported.

"When we were gathered with the others, we overheard the leader shouting at his minions. He was furious about losing you, saying your loss would set the breeding program off schedule. Apparently, he had plans for you to be 'lucky again' when you returned from the mission." The other male said with a snort of derisive anger. He had been the wolf on the team.

Feral hissed angrily at that information, truly wishing he could wring the leader's neck. A quick glance at the female he'd been with showed she was just as furious.

"Yeah, shit to be you for sure. So, how did you get free?" The first male asked eagerly.

Feral willingly gave them the story of how one of the leader's minions was a turncoat and how he'd helped him escape. He told them of his long trip over the mountains until he finally reached home then finished up by proudly reporting how his officers had already begun a task force looking for them.

Everyone smiled gratefully and patted him on the back for his part in setting them free. Many loud calls of thanks rang out from many throats making Feral blush in embarrassment.

The SWAT Kats with the special forces guys sat at distance from the group. They were quietly eating their dinner and closely listening to the various conversations telling of the litany of horror the former prisoners had been through.

"Crud! Those poor Kats!" T-Bone muttered softly.

"I'm just glad we got them out of there before anymore were forced to do such terrible things against Katkind." Lt Kofi said solemnly.

"Amen to that. Hope Commander Emeko finds that turncoat before something happens to him, that's if he hadn't already been found out." Razor said grimly.

Kofi sighed and nodded. "Won't know for a while until he finishes the cleanup of the compound. I'm glad we're going to bomb that place into oblivion. Even if the data might be useful, the risk of someone else carrying out that madkat's plans is too horrifying to contemplate."

Everyone nodded gravely at that as they quietly finished their meals.

On a chopper hovering some miles from a certain mountaintop, Commander Emeko watched with hooded, cold eyes as the hideous compound was blown up. Enough charges had been set to level the whole place and he had jets on standby to raze anything that was still standing. His mouth curved into a satisfied smile of triumph as he waited to insure no trace of the site was left.

Sitting beside him was a certain tom that had managed to set this all in motion. He knew Commander Feral would be relieved to know this Kat had survived. He would receive a heroes welcome, Emeko would see to it.

Back at the hangar, the group of ex-prisoners broke into small groups and retreated to their temporary quarters. They weren't ready to talk to outsiders yet. The female that had been forced to breed with Feral, gently tugged on his arm, coaxing him to come to her bed to talk.

He was reluctant but could see she was determined. He nodded good night to everyone then let her lead him away.

"That must be the one he was forced to breed with." Razor muttered softly as the two of them watched Feral being led away.

"Yeah, hope the conversation turns out alright. They've both been through hell." T-Bone murmured quietly.

"Me too."

The SWAT Kats stayed with the special forces group. They wanted to see Commander Emeko when he returned. The pair were still wearing their altered G-suits as they relaxed and watched the soldiers set about playing cards and talking about the mission in general.

Many were curious about the vigilantes and plied them with many questions about their relationship with Feral and the odd things that happened in Megakat City. It helped to pass the time as no one wanted to go to bed until they heard the compound was completely destroyed.


	18. Chapter 17, Aftermath, Pt II

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 17:** Aftermath, Part II

The female led Feral to one of the many bunks set in a large sleeping area. No one was around at the moment as they sat on her bed.

They sat in silence for a few uncomfortable minutes. She shoved her beautiful long hair of silver away from her face.

"My name is Sheara Wenstar. I'm from the Tymurr Federation and was Commander of a squadron of elite soldiers under General Kylemar." She told him softly.

"I am Commander Ulysses Feral, Chief Enforcer of Megakat City." He told her.

"Ahh, I've heard of you. Your city has all those weird things happen to it. However, I think we both can safely say this has surpassed anything strange your city has encountered." Sheara said ruefully.

Feral snorted, "You can certainly say that and I've seen a lot of weird stuff." He paused, uncertain what to say next. "Uhmm how are you holding up.....I mean....." Helplessly he pointed toward her belly unable to articulate such a difficult subject.

Her paw went to her belly and caressed it. "Alright, all things considered. That madkat insured we were well cared for though we still weren't allowed to speak to each other. We did get to watch TV but only the stations he approved. Needless to say, it was mostly the news which showed all the chaos he was causing. He was quite proud of his handiwork." She said, scowling.

"I'm truly sorry about what happened, I........" He began.

"Don't! No way were you responsible. Stop blaming yourself. I could see you doing that as I watched you through the glass. None of us are responsible for anything that happened. Not the matings nor the missions you were forced to perform. The best and most wonderful thing you did was escape and bring back help. All of us are eternally grateful to you for that." Sheara told him firmly.

Feral blushed. "Well, it wasn't all me that did it. If it weren't for that one traitor in the leader's midst, I would still be a prisoner." He demurred.

"Yes, we are grateful to him as well and he'll get a heroes welcome for it. But you were the one that had to carry out his hope for freedom and you succeeded." She said warmly, daring to reach out and touch his cheek.

He blushed even more and touched her paw. "We don't know each other except for what happened. I won't hold you to any kind of commitment just because you carry my kitten. But I would like to have some say in its life if you will permit me that right?" He asked shyly.

"Of course. It is yours no matter how it was conceived. I had not planned on mating or having kittens. My career was my life but that has been irrevocable changed. I won't be permitted to return to my position." She sighed unhappily.

Feral blinked in surprise. "Why not?"

"It is not the way of my people. If a female becomes a mother, she is required to give up her career and rear it as well as wed the father. However, you are not from my land and cannot be forced to honor that requirement." She quickly told him.

"But.......gods.....what will happen to you?" He asked helplessly.

She turned her face away. "I will go back to my family. They will shelter me and help me take care of my kitten."

She wasn't telling him something. He was certain of it. He reached out and lifted her face so she had to look at him. He could see unshed tears in her eyes.

"You will be disgraced! I can't have that happen to you. Just as you said, none of this is our fault. They shouldn't blame you....."

"Don't! Ulysses, they won't blame me for what happened and I'll be treated as a hero for saving the world but on a personal level, this is a tradition that my country has held for centuries and though they will forgive me I will still be raising a kitten alone in a tradition that says this is acceptable only if the father is dead." She said flatly.

He stared at her helplessly. 'No, I can't let this happen.' He thought in anguish.

"Then the only solution I can see is that you come back with me after you've reported in to your people. In my home, you can be an enforcer if you desire. You are a well trained soldier and would be welcome in my command. I won't insist we marry. That will remain your choice. We could begin to see each other and see if we are compatible though." He offered sincerely.

She eyed him for a long moment. This was not what she'd expected and was certain wouldn't be the result for a lot of the females trapped as she was in an unwanted pregnancy. Her whole world had been destroyed by a madkat. There was no way to go back and change that fact. Also, there was the fact that she was altered drastically as well. She didn't know how her government would handle that and she wasn't certain her scientists were up to the task of finding a cure either.

'Oh Bastet, great and wise Queen, what am I to do? He is sincere now but will he be later when he is once more home and is faced with an instant family he never planned on?' What do I do?' She moaned mentally.

A gentle paw touched her shoulder. She looked up to see an understanding look on the dark tom's face.

"I know this is a very hard decision and you should probably speak to someone about it before making it. I won't press you. Take all the time you need. I'll give you my number and how to reach me." He said softly.

She gave him a weak grateful smile. "Thank you for being so understanding. Yes, I do need to talk to someone. I will go home and see what happens but I will keep in touch." She promised.

He smiled, patted her shoulder gently, then got up and left.

His heart was heavy as he headed back to where everyone was waiting for Emeko's return. Well at least he let her know he would be there for her but it seemed so unfair that she was losing so much more than the males for what had happened.

Anger flamed in that moment and nearly consumed him. That bastard had ruined so many lives and would continue to do so even after he went to prison. If they didn't need to see justice done, he would rip that bastard to little pieces.

In that frame of mind he stalked back into the room, his eyes blind to anything but the pain and injustice that filled him at this moment.

"Uh oh! Things didn't go well!" Razor warned as he spotted Feral come stalking from the sleeping quarters.

T-Bone looked up and stared at the bristling dark tom heading their way. He could almost feel the waves of fury coming off the Commander.

"Crud! Wonder what happened?"

"Doesn't matter, he's really pissed and that makes him dangerous." Razor said tightly. "And he isn't the only one exhibiting anger and fury either." Pointing to more toms coming from the sleeping area behind Feral.

"Oh, this is bad. Let's go buddy." T-Bone said as he got up from the table he'd been sitting at and headed for Feral.

Razor and he stopped in front of the approaching group of males. There were at least ten of them.

"Hey! Easy, you're all exhibiting signs of agitation and that could trigger a fight. How about you guys go out and burn off your mad in a hunt?" T-Bone shouted to get there attention.

Behind them silence fell from the soldiers and special forces guys as they sensed a serious problem occurring. Other altered males who hadn't been involved in mating, moved closer to their fellow prisoners providing comradeship and support.

Feral blinked in surprise, he reigned in his anger, just barely. He turned his head and noted more males behind him and realized he hadn't been the only one taking a moment to talk with the pregnant females. Shaking himself, he turned back to T-Bone and nodded tightly.

"You're right. It wasn't anything she said to me but I just want to rip that crud to ribbons and I can't. So your idea has merit." He growled flatly then stripped his outfit off and altered without another word.

The huge tiger roared his fury and galloped toward the hangar door. One of the soldiers hot footed it to the door and quickly opened it as a gaggle of tigers, cheetahs, wolves, bears, coyotes, panthers, and hyenas charged through the door and vanished into the night.

"Woah! I didn't realize there were that many different creatures he'd made of them." Razor whistled in shock.

"You can say that again. That guy has a lot to answer for. I just hope the eggheads can find a way to reverse it." T-Bone said heavily.

"So do I."

"They were truly upset." Lt. Kofi said coming to their side.

"They've got a lot of mad going on. It's going to be really hard to protect that madkat from these guys fury. If they aren't changed back, its going to get uglier." Razor said, worriedly.

"You've got that right." Came a voice behind them.

The three turned and saw a small group of altered males eyeing them.

"That creep took our lives from us. Some of us come from countries that are in total anarchy and will be for a long time to come, others from governments that might not trust us again, and still others who can go home but don't have the scientific level to be able to try and reverse the effects. We may be rescued and no longer forced to destroy and kill but we are a long ways from being truly free." The male said heavily.

"I guess that's very true. The rest of the world that managed to avoid being harmed are going to have to aid those that have or our world will end up at war and that crud will get what he hoped for, a world ripping itself apart." Razor agreed soberly.

"A gloomy image but an accurate one. I am Colonel Torson from Sandeval Bay." He introduced himself.

"Oh, you're the one that got caught with Feral." T-Bone said in recognition. "What did you end up being, if you don't mind me asking?"

"A bear of all things." Torson grunted.

"Wow. Wonder how that stuff determined what you will be or if he tailored each of you for it?" Razor wondered.

Torson shrugged. Before he could say anything more, there was a commotion at the doors.

Commander Emeko entered followed by his team and some strangers. Everyone gathered around to hear what he had to say. The Commander looked around him at all the expectant faces and frowned when he didn't see one in particular.

"Where is Commander Feral?" He asked in concern.

"Ahh, he and several others suffered a fit of anger and we suggested they go for a run to cool down." Razor explained.

"Oh, truly? Well, you can tell him for me then." Emeko said then went to a table and climbed up on top of it. "Alright, please listen up. The compound has been completely obliterated. The ones running the place have been taken into custody and are under heavy guard. As for all of you, when you've been debriefed, fed, examined, and have rested. You will be given a lift to your homes if you wish. Just let me know and I'll arrange it immediately. So that you can go home quickly, we start everything tomorrow and try to be done within a day or two." He announced.

There were murmurs of agreement all around.

"One last thing, this fellow......" He paused and signaled a black furred tom with white areas on his fur to come up on the table with him. ".....this is Jager Tannen. He is the one responsible for helping Commander Feral escape and getting you free at last."

The room shook with cheers and hoots of extreme happiness. Tannen was a bit overwhelmed by the response and gave them a small smile.

"I'm glad you don't hold my treatment of you against me." He said in an attempt at humor.

"Hell no! That was the only way you'd not become like us." Torson retorted loudly.

The rest yelled their agreement to that sentiment.

"I'm truly glad you all made it. I was getting a bit worried that tom might not make it since it took so long for him to come back." Tannen said.

"Oh I made it alright but it took me over eight days and more miles than I wanted to count to do it." Feral's voice came from near the doors as he and the others were putting on their clothes.

They hadn't made it to hunt when they heard the return of Commander Emeko's squadron and wanted to hear what he had to say.

Feral walked quickly across the floor, everyone moving out of the way to let him reach the table then climbed aboard. Staring at Tannen for a moment he reached out and hugged the Kat tightly before quickly letting him go.

"Thank you for taking such a risk." He said sincerely, his voice tight with emotion.

"And thank you for running with it and bringing back help. My trust in you wasn't wasted." Tannen said solemnly. Really grateful this tom had succeeded so well.

"Well, it's late and everyone is very tired I'm sure. Food will be arriving shortly. Eat up, rest and I will see you all in the morning. Welcome back. Sleep well and in peace." Emeko said, waving goodnight then jumping down from the table and leaving.

The rest hugged and talked with Tannen for some time as they ate the wonderful repast Emeko had ordered for them then finally parted to get some much needed rest.

The SWAT Kats were stuck here until Feral was finished being debrief. Using the radio in the Turbokat, Razor reported back to Megakat City and the task force. Though quite late he was able to get a hold of Steele and gave him a thumbnail report of the mission.

Steele was relieved and promised to get the word to everyone on the task force before going to bed. Wishing them a good night, he broke the connection. Yawning, Razor went into the cargo hold where he and T-Bone had set up beds of their own and turned in. Tomorrow would be very busy and long.


	19. Chapter 18, Returning Home

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 18:** Returning Home

Everyone was up early, wanting to get this over with quickly and to return to the homes they'd been parted from for months.

First up was a wonderful, hot breakfast then the not so nice physicals. That took all morning, a break for lunch then going back for more tests before being released at last at dinner time.

The next day was spent in debriefings. For this, Commander Emeko invited the task force from Megakat City to partake in since they were most involved in this affair from the beginning.

Though, Feral had been one of the prisoners, he was allowed to aid in the debriefings since his own had been accomplished when he was rescued. He stood by each person, giving moral support as they gave their account of what happened to them.

The interrogators faces were grim after the day's session. It would take another day to finish the debriefings as they needed to hear the pregnant female's reports.

Finally, by the middle of the third day, the former prisoners were released to return home. And as he had promised, Emeko provided them flights home courtesy of his country's military airlift squadrons.

The SWAT Kats had volunteered to ferry everyone from Megakat City home. Commander Emeko very graciously provided the fuel for the return trip.

Feral met with Sheara one last time before she left on her flight. He gave her his contact information and wished her well. He offered to be by her side if she wished, but she just shook her head, smiled and thanked him, saying she needed to do this alone.

He watched her plane leave with mixed feelings before heading toward the Turbokat for his own trip home.

Everyone was aboard, only Razor was waiting at the ramp for him. "Ready to go Commander?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah." Feral sighed, looking at the sky a moment longer before boarding and taking the last seat waiting for him.

Razor closed the cargo doors then leaped for the cockpit. "Ready for takeoff buddy." He told his partner as he put his restraints on.

"Roger, Megakat City next stop.......finally." T-Bone said with a pleased sigh. He took the jet to VTOL until they were at flight level then switched to forward motion without a jolt.

Reaching cruising level some ten minutes later, he leveled off and set the jet on autopilot. It would be a long flight.

The task force had decided to stay together in Megakat City so they could go over all the testimonies, the medical results, the findings from the compound, the world scene as it stood now, and making up some kind of plan to aid the countries in turmoil as well as how to help find a way to reverse the effects on the altered Kats. It could very well take months or years.

Steele eyed the Commander who was staring into space, looking decidedly unhappy. The war might be over but the aftermath was sitting before him. If these poor souls couldn't be returned to normal then they would have to learn to deal with their new abilities.

In some ways, that wasn't a bad thing since as military members these new abilities could come in extremely handy in their jobs but on the personal side it had some serious down sides.

Their primitive sides had to be kept under control at all times, breeding would have to be considered very carefully since the results of such matings were unknown. And what were the long term effects of these changes? Far too many questions and too few answers.

Steele sighed and shook his head. No this wasn't going to be easy for any of them. On top of that concern was the one about the chaos Mobar had left the world in. The economic and environmental damages would have far reaching effects on the stable countries and the civil wars being waged in the countries without leaders would contribute to the whole picture. The result could send them into another world war.

The fact that they were almost on the verge of that, sent a shudder of fear down Steele's back. They had a serious amount of work ahead of them.

The omega's, if they were remotely smart, would stay out of the picture. If they stepped in now, they would only ensure the world would tip into war and they would find themselves in the heart of it. All of them were self-centered and only wanted this city, for some idiot reason, to rule over. None seemed interested or stupid enough to want to try and rule the whole world. Hopefully it would stay that way.

Steele sighed and closed his eyes and tried to catch a little sleep before they arrived home.

Feral felt depressed. Yes they had won but the fallout was a nightmare. He felt overwhelmed at the amount of work that was going to be needed to save the world from itself and here was Megakat City at the center of the effort.

It had been hard enough taking care of the city from the omegas but now they had the added burden of trying the save the world from self-destructing.

He felt he was on a rocket running out of control and no way to stop it. He'd been running so long since his capture, he felt seriously burned out and now with Sheara's problems as well.......he moaned in his mind. He needed a break or he would become a danger to all those around him. At least he was the only altered person around. No one else from his home had been taken.

Other countries weren't so lucky, especially Sandeval Bay where most of the kidnapped officers had come from. At least they were not far from Megakat City so the two scientific communities could work together on the problem

Everyone that had individuals altered had all been given copies of the data collected from the compound and the physicals that had been done. It was hoped someone would come up with a way to reverse the effects.

Quiet conversations were going on between the task force while the special ops team decided to nap. The flight went without mishap and soon T-Bone was piloting the jet toward the Enforcer flight line and landing.

Stiff from the long flight, everyone disembarked and headed inside. Razor had radioed ahead when they were an hour out so that meals could be prepared for the returning group.

As soon as their passengers and their equipment were off loaded, the SWAT Kats prepared to leave. Feral was speaking with task force members as they walked into the building.

"You're welcome to stay and grab a meal." Steele offered, staying them a moment.

"Nah, thanks but we've been gone far too long and need to get home. Thanks though." T-Bone said gruffly, stifling a yawn.

"Well okay. I also wanted to say thank you. You two helped a lot and will receive recognition for it." Steele promised.

"Thanks, but there's still a lot of work to be done. Let's save all the hoopla until we're sure our world will be safe. It don't look all that good right now." Razor said heavily.

"You're certainly right there and on that note, you are included in helping to find a solution. We're going to need everyone's input to find a way to do everything that needs to be done. Though time is of the essence, I can see the exhaustion on everyone's faces and know we need to take some down time. Especially Commander Feral." Steele said in concern.

T-Bone grimaced, his eyes shifting toward the Commander walking out of view into his headquarters. "We noticed. He's on a hair trigger and over stressed, all the signs are there that he's overwhelmed." He observed quietly.

"Better shove him out of the building and somewhere quiet before he takes a bite out of someone. You know, Professor Hackle's place is quiet and he owns a long stretch of beach where Feral can burn off nervous energy and the mountainous area behind his place should be good for hunting." Razor suggested.

"I didn't know that. I'll contact him first and set it up, then firmly suggest it the Commander. Thanks." Steele said, relieved to have a perfect solution to a dangerous problem.

"No problem. Just call us when you're ready to reconvene the group. Should be a good time to brief the Mayor and Deputy Mayor at that time too." Razor said.

Now it was Steele's turn to grimace. "Thanks for reminding me. I'll have to call them immediately and let them know what's happened and what's next."

"Better you than us." T-Bone chuckled grimly. "See you later. And Steele......"

"Hmmm?"

"You did good too! Get some rest!"

Steele grinned and waved them off then turned to walk back into the building.

The pair leaped back up into the cockpit and lifted off, heading for home on all engines, T-Bone being in a hurry to get back to the hangar.

Steele went straight to the Commander's office and wasn't surprised to find Feral there.

"Sir, do you want me to brief you on what's been going on in the normal world?" He asked, a small smile on his face.

"Humph! Nothing will be normal for a long time, Steele." Feral said gruffly then sighed. "But why not pretend. Let me hear it."

"Certainly, sir." Steele responded briskly. Over the next two hours, he brought Feral up to date. At the end, Feral dismissed him to get some rest and leave the paperwork for tomorrow.

Steele nodded, then hurried to his own office to make some important calls. Two hours later, a headache beginning to pound between his ears, he'd finished speaking with the Mayor, having to listen to his honor's whining about the fate of his city, before speaking to the quieter more sensible Ms. Briggs, then the lengthy explanation with Professor Hackle about why his help was needed. Sighing, he got up and left his office for the Commander's once more.

Feral looked up in surprise and a question in his eyes when his second appeared before him again. He was sitting at his desk, apparently trying to catch up with all that he'd missed by reading reports on his computer.

"Sir, I've briefed the Mayor and Ms. Briggs. Also, I had a chat with someone who is willing to offer you a place to get some much needed down time. It hasn't missed anyone's attention that you are seriously stressed out and need a break. Professor Hackle has graciously invited you to spend a couple of days at his home/lab complex in the hills above the bay. He has this beautiful stretch of beach that's private and a forested area behind him for hunting. I really think you should take advantage of this before your more primitive side causes you serious problems." He said seriously, hoping Feral was in a listening mood and not wanting to throw his second's tail out of his office.

Feral blinked at him in utter amazement at the temerity of Steele. He still had problems accepting that this former whiney, cowardly Kat was now an efficient, well functioning officer. He didn't say anything for a long moment then sighed, "Is it that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so, sir. Please....take some time for yourself. We won't begin any meetings until you return. Besides everyone on the task force has informed me they wish to take a quick break to go to their respective homes just long enough to check on their own affairs, get updates and brief their own governments. I've provided them with transport to insure a quick turn around. When everyone comes back, we should be fresh and hopefully have some ideas on what to do next." Steele said carefully.

His superior eyed him as he thought about it. He'd been thinking about how over whelmed he was feeling and apparently everyone else had sensed it too. He sighed, a brief respite was probably a good idea.

"Fine. I'll go there tomorrow. I need to go home and check my place out then pack. I'll have my cell if I'm needed." He agreed, reluctantly.

"Good then I wish you a good night sir and a good rest." Steele said, relieved his mission was successful. Now he could finally go home as well and catch up on some personal business of his own.


	20. Chapter 19, Trying for Normalcy

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 19:** Trying for Normalcy

It was late when Feral finally left his office. He realized suddenly, he didn't have his coat and that he was still wearing the coveralls the SWAT Kats had given him. Sighing, he was glad it was so late so no one would remark on his odd form of dress.

His next problem was he didn't have any of his ID or keys on him. Grumbling at his sluggish mind, he went down to the room he'd used before the mission and was grateful to find he hadn't locked the door, which, when he thought about it, was something he always did.

But once he'd stepped into the room he found he hadn't. A note on the dresser explained that the door had been left unlocked for him, there was food in the mini-fridge, and his wallet and keys were in the top drawer of the dresser. It was signed by Sgt Fallon.

A smile flitted across his lips. 'Now that's an assistant!' He thought in relief. Pulling open the drawer, he retrieved his wallet and keys, shoving them into his pocket before going to the fridge. He was pleased to see a cold chicken sandwich and big container of milk. His stomach growled at the sight. After pulling them out he closed the fridge, walked to the room's only chair and dropped into it. Setting his food down he grabbed the TV controller and flicked the set on. He watched the news while he ate.

The news was filled with the end to the strange war but also filled with the pain and suffering still being experienced by those countries that had lost their leadership and the environmental disasters that would cost millions to clean up. He sighed and shook his head at that. It would be along time before this world was calm and well again.

He flicked the TV off and carried his trash to the large can near the fridge. He stood there a moment debating whether he should go home or just crash here. While he thought about it, he could feel how tired he was just standing here and driving home didn't sound very appealing.

That decided him, so he walked to the room door to lock it, then went to take a hot shower. Clean and dry, he yawned and stretched, heading to the bed and sliding in. Sleep swept him away quickly.

He woke as dawn was rising, thoroughly rested. Yawning, he climbed out of the bed, took care of his needs, put on a set of sweats he'd kept there and left his temporary room.

Taking the elevator down, he thought about what to do next. He wouldn't be going to work but he did need to see his apartment. He hadn't seen it for a couple of months but he suspected Sgt Fallon made sure it was kept clean and stocked so it was just a matter of checking his mail and packing a bag for his stay at Professor Hackle's.

The elevator snapped open and the sounds of shift change hit his ears. He smiled happily, it was soo good to hear the sounds of his command moving about their duties. He'd missed it a lot. Nearly humming to himself, he strode across the lobby area, eyes watching him in pleased surprise, many not aware their commander had returned. No one stopped him, though, as he made for the doors and pushed his way outside, sniffing the early morning air. His vehicle waited at the bottom of the steps. Climbing into his seat, he sped off through the morning traffic for his home.

As he thought, his apartment was immaculate. Checking the fridge he saw Sgt Fallon had insured all his favorites were stocked.

'That Kat deserves a rank increase for certain.' He thought, warmly as he made himself breakfast.

He took his food to the living room and sat down on the couch. Beside the coffee table were no less than five bags of mail. He grimaced at that and decided to do a couple before packing and leaving.

An hour later, stomach full, mail sorted, and bag packed, he headed out of his apartment and down to his hummer once more.

Tossing his bag on the seat next to him, he climbed in and started his engine. This hour of the morning there was little traffic so he had a pleasant drive out toward the far end of the bay near the forest where Professor Hackle lived.

After a forty minute drive, he pulled up to a security gate that was set a block from the professor's cliff side home/lab. Pressing the intercom, he waited for a response. It took about fifteen minutes but he didn't get impatient. One because the professor was old and used a cane, and two, he was probably in his lab and hadn't noted the warning he had a visitor.

"Yes?" Inquired an elderly voice.

"Professor Hackle? This is Feral."

"Oh yes, Commander. Just a moment sir, I'll open the gate." Hackle said.

Moments later the gates swung open silently. He drove in and parked. Grabbing his bag, he climbed out and walked up to the front door. About five minutes later it opened.

"Good day, Commander. I hope you are well." Professor Hackle said politely as he gestured for the dark tom to enter.

Feral stepped into a little used living space that was comfortable and very modern. Lovely seascapes graced the walls and the far windows looked out over the bay.

"Nice place you have Professor." Feral commented, appreciatively.

"Thank you. Now, I'm told you need to rest your mind and exercise your other altered forms, is that correct?" Hackle asked.

Feral sighed. "Yeah, apparently everyone has noticed that I'm a bit too tense and too much of my tiger ego is peeking out." He admitted unhappily.

"Oh my! That could be cause for concern, certainly. Well, then I'm very glad I could be of assistance. If you would come here please." The professor said, moving to the wall near the front door.

He pressed a button on the wall and a mini-computer screen appeared as a section of the wall slid away. Feral eyed it in amazement.

"Now sir, if you would be so kind as to place your palm on this screen and hold it there for a moment."

Feral did so and felt a small warmth pass across it.

"There, that does it. You may remove your paw, Commander. Now, my security system will recognize you and you may come and go as you wish. As for coming and going in your tiger form, one of my robots will be assigned to you and will be responsible for letting you in and out. As for meals, I'm ashamed to say I pay no attention to the time so my robot housekeeper makes my food and brings it to me. I get so wrapped up in my projects you see. If you wish something to eat there is an intercom in the guest room and you can order anything you'd like whenever you like. Is there anything else I might have forgotten?" Hackle asked.

"No, thank you. You've done far more than you had to and I truly appreciate you letting me stay here. I promise not to disturb you at your work. I suspect I will be spending a lot of time exploring the woods behind your home." Feral said, gratefully.

"You are most welcome. So, allow me to show you where you will be staying." Hackle said, smiling.

Feral was led to a very nice and spacious guest room with its own large bathroom. A flat screen TV graced one wall and the window looked out over the bay too. He thanked the professor for the nice quarters and they parted amiably.

Left alone, Feral put away his personal things. When he had finished there was a knock on his door. He opened it and was greeted by an odd looking thin metal creature.

"Commander Feral. I am your personal servant. I will be nearby at all times to assist you leaving and returning in your altered form.. May I see your this form so that I may record it on my data bank." The robots tinny voice inquired.

Feral blinked in surprise but shrugged. He had already thought to go for a run anyway.

"Alright, but I have too forms. The primitive standing form can speak and open doors while my four footed primitive form obviously cannot. Since I wanted to go for a run anyway in my four footed form, I appreciate the doors being opened for me."

"It is my duty to see to your comfort, master." The robot responded.

Stretching, Feral loosened his body up then began to undress, leaving his clothes on the bed. Moments later he altered his shape to his standing warform. He stood still for some moments as the robot scanned him with a red light then changed to his tiger form and waited again. When the robot had finished scanning him, he waited, eyeing the door.

"Thank you sir. Now, if you will follow me I will lead you to the door you will use for your excursions." The robot said, then turned and led off down the short hall.

Feral padded after him silently. They turned a corner and went down another short hallway to a secured door. The robot flashed a light at the door and it silently opened. Outside was a short apron of lawn edged by some low shrubbery and past that was a pathway that wound along the cliff.

Sniffing the sea air, Feral stepped out and trotted down the path. The sun beat down on him warmly. It felt wonderful. He ambled along for quite a ways before he came to a carved pathway cut into the rock of the cliff that led down to a white sandy beach and the blue water of the bay.

If he could smile he would have. He hurried down the pathway until he reached the sand then galloped across it and splashed into the water.

While Feral was beginning his enforced vacation. Chance and Jake woke late and enjoyed a quiet breakfast.

Their business had suffered some with their prolonged absence but one thing about a garage and towing business, it was always needed. Once people learned the two were back they would be up to their ears in work. So they enjoyed the peace for as long as it would last.

"Should do maintenance on the Turbokat and reload her, buddy." Jake commented as he finished his cereal.

"Humph....."Chance grunted around a mouthful of bacon, he swallowed it and drank some milk before answering. "You're right there. No telling if we'll be needed to run errands for the task force."

"My thought exactly." Jake nodded, putting his bowl in the sink. "Glad Feral was willing to go without to much of a fuss."

"At least he realizes he's got to watch his temper and stress a lot more than he used to." Chance said grimly.

Jake nodded and headed for the trapdoor. He dropped out of sight as Chance finished his breakfast. Putting his dishes in the sink, he cleaned up then followed his partner.

With luck, they hopefully would get done everything they needed to before trouble showed up again.


	21. Chapter 20, Making a Life Changing Decis

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 20:** Making a Life Changing Decision

The sand flew beneath his huge paws, the waves rushing over each descending paw as he galloped past. The feel of the wind in his face, the smell of salt, the scream of seagulls pushed him to run faster and faster.

The feel of his heavy muscles pushing him along was like a drug. All that power at his command was simply to irresistible to ignore which was why he was giving into that primitive desire to run for the sheer joy of movement. If any were watching, they would behold a magnificent creature running headlong over the long empty beach below Professor Hackle's home, his beautifully dark, striped form standing out starkly against the whiteness of the sand.

Feral ran to the very end of the beach where a rocky wall tumbled down to the water's edge, but even then he didn't stop. He lunged upward, scrambling on the rocks, heading upward toward the top of the cliff.

Reaching it, he hurled himself onward and into the forest that grew from this point and upward toward a mountainous region just behind the Professor's home. He continued to race forward until the forest hid him from view.

Only then did he finally slow down, his tongue hanging out as he panted to catch his breath. He moved slowly forward through the trees and heavy brush. He'd gone only about a mile when he froze in mid-step.

His mouth was still open and he made a peculiar facial expression, sort of a grimace, which revealed his really long fangs as a sense organ at the back of his mouth took in the scent he caught moments ago.

He closed his mouth and began to move slowly, deliberately in the direction of the delectable odor. Minutes later, he came upon a small stream where a young buck was getting a drink.

Eyes glittering, he crouched down and moved inch by inch, using all the cover around him to get as close to the buck as he could before lunging upward, his long scimitar-like talons reaching out and digging into the buck's back, dragging it to the ground. It flailed in terror, trying to get away. Using his heavy body, he pressed it to the ground where he slammed down his fangs into the deer's throat.

He could feel the creature's frantically beating heart through his chest and tasted the deer's sweet blood in his mouth and its fear in his nose. It excited him! He closed his jaws and crushed the buck's neck, ripping out its throat, killing it instantly. Grunting in satisfaction, he settled down for a meal.

When he finished, he moved to the stream to wash and drink. His ears twitched as they picked up small, stealthy sounds moving closer to him. He raised his head and stared into the brush around him and sniffed the air.

Other predators had caught the scent of his meal. He huffed, spraying water outward then disdainfully turned his back on them and returned to the pathway he had taken from the beach. When he was far enough away, he could hear the snarls and growls of the predators fighting over his leavings. He grinned to himself as he made his way more carefully than he gone up, down the mountainside and to the beach.

Once at the water's edge he moved out into the water until he was deep enough to swim. He paddled around for some time. As he let the warm water sweep him about, his mind was on how he truly felt about being able to change his form.

Yes, he now had to eat more to maintain his faster metabolism and he had to control his temper much more closely than he'd been inclined to before, but.......all this raw power at his command.........did he really want to give it up? After all, he did still have his true form, it hadn't been taken from him.......so......now he was just.....more.....than he used to be. Was that so bad?

He'd been so determined to see if he could be returned to normal that he hadn't thought about the advantages his new forms would be in his job. He was a power to be reckoned with now. He could actually go one-on-one against Dark Kat easily. Viper didn't stand a chance against his claws and faster speed in either of his other forms. This was something he would have to really think hard about.

Sighing mentally to himself, he swam back to shore and shook hard, spraying water everywhere then padded off to the Professor's home once more. When he reached the home's small patio, he halted and flopped down on the warmed flagstones. A small amount of shade from a nearby tree, gave him the perfect place to take a nap.

Professor Hackle found him there late in the afternoon when he took a brief break from his work. His robot servant made him go outside at least once a day to get some fresh air for his health.

He stepped out the back door, thinking to take a short walk to the edge of the cliff, when he spotted Feral laying some twenty feet away in his tiger form. The big cat was sleeping giving Hackle the opportunity to study him.

There was no doubt that the megalomaniac that had altered these Kats had done an incredible thing, horrible as it was. Hackle frowned in thought. Though the process that had been used had been abusive and terrible there was no denying that the end result was a magnificent warrior who was more than what he'd been born to be. In truth, all the victims were better military soldiers than before. Though he was a peace-loving Kat, he could see the advantage of Feral retaining this new ability of his. It could certainly help him perhaps finally get the better of those annoying omegas.

It could take scientists a long time to find a way to reverse what was done so in the meantime, these poor unfortunate Kats should be told how their new circumstances could benefit their various commands they belong too. It would at least keep them from becoming depressed about their situation while everyone tried to correct it.

He nodded to himself. He and the Commander needed to discuss this. Feral should pass this idea along to the others like him. Hackle was about to turn and go back inside when Feral raised his head and yawned. He eyed the professor and nodded amiably.

"Good afternoon, Commander. I trust you had an enjoyable day?" Hackle asked politely.

Feral gave a toothy grin and nodded his heavy head as he climbed to his feet and walked toward the frail Kat.

"I'm glad. I have something I wish to discuss with you. If you're ready, I'll meet you in the kitchen for a snack." Hackle offered with a warm smile.

The tiger again nodded his huge head and waited politely for the professor to go ahead of him. Hackle smiled and turned to the door, limping his way back inside, holding the door for Feral. They parted ways as they walked down the short hall. Feral headed to his room while Hackle made for the kitchen.

Feral showered and dressed then made his way to the kitchen where he found Hackle sitting at the table eating a sandwich, a hot cup of tea before him. A second plate awaited him with a large glass of cold milk.

He smiled in appreciation and sat down across from the Professor. Even though he'd eaten a large meal, this snack was still welcome.

"So what did you want to discuss?" He asked as he picked up his sandwich.

"You do know, Commander, that it may be a long time before scientists translate the data they retrieved and find a reversal for you all." Hackle stated more than asked.

Feral simply nodded in agreement.

"Well then, I wondered if it was such a terrible thing to accept your conditions and make it work for you? After all, you still retain your normal form but are now able to alter to much more powerful ones that would come in good stead as the soldiers of peacekeeping that you all are." Hackle said.

Feral eyed the Professor in mild surprise. "You hit on the very thing I've already been mulling over in my mind today. You're right. Though I'm angry at what I went through to have this happen to me, I can't deny that I'm more than I used to be and it hasn't escaped me just how well that might come in handy when I next confront Dark Kat or Viper." He acknowledged.

"Oh, I'm glad you have realized that. Might I ask that you relay this to your fellow prisoners? It might help keep depression at bay for some of them." Hackle requested softly.

"I most certainly will."

"Good. Then I will leave you to enjoy your brief vacation in peace. Might I say, you already look more at ease than when you arrived." Hackle observed with a twinkle in his eye.

Feral blushed a bit. "Thank you. I think its because I never had a chance to just relax and have time to go over all that's happened and reconciled myself to it. I do appreciate what you've done for me."

"You're most welcome." Hackle said with a small smile as he left the table and returned to his lab.

Feral sighed. He hadn't lied, he did feel more relaxed and at peace. The only 'fly' in that peacefulness was his concern for Sheara and the kitten she carried. He just didn't know what to do about that and had to hope she was alright.

He finished his meal and left the table for his room. He had some calls to make.


	22. Chapter 21, Providing Hope for the Futur

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 21:** Providing Hope for the Future

Feral returned to work feeling refreshed and with a new purpose. A meeting of the task force had been set for ten this morning and he had a lot to say.

When everyone seated themselves and settled down, reports were given of the present world picture. It was fairly bleak. Even though Mobar had been locked up, the damage he'd done was extensive and heart wrenching.

At least four countries were in the midst of bloody civil wars. Two others were in a state of anarchy as top dogs tried to take over leadership and force things their way without much success except for more pain and suffering on the part of their people. The rest of the countries affected were only marginally luckier, if you could call it that. Their economies had been upset enough to cause significant shortages of major supplies, such as oil, water, food stuffs, jobs, grain, trade, and transport of goods.

After listening to the less than good news, Feral took the floor. He stood and looked into each face. Everyone was gloomy, even the SWAT Kats looked disheartened by the depressing news.

"I know these problems our world faces seemed to be nearly overwhelming but if we break them down into bite size chunks we may be able to more easily handle them. I propose we do the following; for those countries in the throes of civil war, I suggest we set up negotiation teams made up of all our countries best qualified personnel and offer their unbiased assistance to helping the warring parties to sit down at a peace table and discuss their issues without coming to blows." Feral began.

"Next, those countries suffering the loss of leadership and any kind of ruling body, we can send military advisors with a small peacekeeping force and government administrators to help bring peace then aid them in selecting a candidate amongst the strongest and most intelligent contenders. Allowing their people a say will go a long way in easing their fears of another takeover such as they just got rid of but it must be their choice. We don't want them to think we've come in to take over or impose our own form of government. So a great deal of care must be taken not to let them even get a hint that we're there for anything but their own well being. That must be the theme of all our endeavors." Feral said then paused to look over at Ann Gora.

"You know Ann, it might be a good idea to come up with a logo and some kind of slogan to be used worldwide that will define this massive effort to bring peace and harmony to our world. If we make it a 'all for one' type of thing and have every country join in then those countries needing assistance will hopefully feel this is a worthwhile thing to belong to. Especially, if its known that all that join will be aided in their times of need by their neighbors or other countries if they need it without reprisals or strings attached." He said, getting swept up in this novel idea that had just struck him.

Ann had been nodding excitedly as she took notes and was hyped and ready to put this into play by the time he'd finished speaking. "That is a wonderful idea, Commander and it could very well work. I'll get with my station manager and CEO to present this idea. I'll tell them it would be good publicity for us besides being something that will be good for our world. If we can convince all the other stations to join in we could really get this spreading like wildfire." She said eagerly.

Feral smiled at her enthusiasm. The rest of the task force were sitting up and taking copious notes with varying degrees of excitement. The SWAT Kats were eyeing him with bemusement as if they were seeing him in a different light. He blushed at that but he had more to say.

"That's excellent Ann. It will be a real help if you can get that going as fast as you can. Anyway, there is still one more thing I need to cover and that's how to help those countries that have suffered significant economic and environmental damages. I suggest every country fortunate enough to have been left unscathed by the war now dig deep into their own pockets and see what they can spare to help them get back on their feet because their troubles affect our own as we all share this world together." Feral finished. "Now I'll get off my soapbox and let everyone have a say.

It was silent for a long moment then Captain Harmon spoke up. "I don't know about my fellow members here, Commander but I think what you've said is absolutely brilliant. It nails down what we can and need to do instead of feeling helpless. I know my President will embrace these ideas wholeheartedly. I suggest we write this up and take it back to our leaders as soon as possible and get our world back on her feet."

"I second that!" Callie said instantly, proud her country would be the one leading the way toward saving their world and that Feral was the one leading the way. It was truly startling to see Feral in this light. He was turning out to be an excellent strategist. She had a feeling he could have been a world leader himself if he'd been so inclined.

The room filled with voices agreeing to the proposals. Feral felt warm and a little embarrassed by the overwhelming endorsement of his ideas. He just hoped it would help halt the rapid deterioration and begin the healing process.

When everyone calmed down again, Steele spoke up on a more sobering subject.

"After such a positive note, I hate to bring up the one sour note that still hasn't been addressed. The disposition and care of the ones who had been altered by that madkat which, of course, includes you, sir. The most recent report I received this morning from our own scientists that have been working tirelessly to find a way to reverse the effects, is, I'm sorry to say, a depressing one of no significant progress. What Mobar had done with his research program was quite radical as he had altered these individuals right down to the DNA level. Such a thing is very difficult to reverse. I'm sorry sir, but it seems there might be no way to return you or the others to normal." He finished, his face unhappy and sad.

"Thank you for keeping on top of that, Steele. While I was on leave, I came to the realization that this might not be a bad thing. I more or less figured there might not be a way to go back to normal so I began thinking how my condition might be useful. Except for the increased level of aggression that I must be always on alert for, my additional abilities are actually a boon to my job as it would be to my fellow sufferers. We are all soldiers of one kind or another and now we have the tools to do our job even better. I would appreciate it if you all would present this solution to the ones in your own country that were altered and tell them not to think of it as a tragedy but as a new tool in their fight against crime and violence." Feral said passionately.

Steele and the SWAT Kats blinked in surprise at Feral's positive spin on what should have been depressing news. He was right though. His new abilities would make him hell on wheels against omegas like Dark Kat and Dr. Viper.

Razor realized they might have a challenge fighting the bad guys when Feral could possibly take them out before they even used their gadgets to do the job and really that wasn't a bad thing though he thought T-Bone might have trouble getting used to it.

"That's an excellent idea, Commander. I think you might have the right attitude and idea. I'll be sure to bring that to my Commander's attention immediately since we have the most officers altered of all the countries affected." Captain Harmon said, relieved to have a solution to a nasty and emotional problem.

"I agree. What an uplifting notion and a healthy attitude that is as well." The Warrior from the Tribal Kingdom of Mubatu said warmly.

The meeting broke up into individual groups after that. Since they weren't needed for this part of the process, the SWAT Kats discreetly departed after pausing to give Feral a hearty slap to the back showing their support to his plans. This incident had managed to ease the relationship between the antagonists which was a boon for the city in general.

It warmed Callie's heart to see it as well. Maybe things were looking up after all. The meeting went on for many more hours as they hammered together a proposal to take back to their homes. Finally they broke up by late afternoon and by that evening, the task force members were on flights home buoyed by new hope and plans for fixing their world.

Feral sighed in pleasure at the end of a very successful day, he'd even left work on time for once because Steele had down such a good job of keeping his office running smoothly.

Home, finally, he stripped off his clothes and enjoyed a hot shower and the privacy. That was something he'd badly missed and made the most of since his return. The only sour note was his concern for Sheara's welfare. He'd not heard from her since he returned and wondered how she was. Perhaps he should try and give her a call tomorrow.

Sighing wistfully to himself, he went to the kitchen to make dinner and unwind. Unfortunately, after eating, watching some TV then trying to get some sleep, he found he was too restless. Dragging himself out of bed, he paced around for a little until he couldn't stand it any longer and dressed in a light sweatsuit with no shoes and just his apartment keys, he hurried out of his apartment and headed off down the street on foot.

Living not far from Megakat Park, he reached it in just twenty minutes and plunged into the dark and silent park. Finding a nice high limb to leave his clothes on, he stripped and placed them out of sight then altered to his four footed form.

Feeling free at last, he headed off into the darkest part of the park and hunted the little creatures that called the park home and otherwise enjoyed his evening romp. Just a few hours later, he finally had enough and went to his hidden clothes, changed his form back to Kat and redressed.

He walked the silent and empty street home, humming lightly to himself. Suddenly, from a dark alley he was passing he heard a sharp noise. He halted and went on the alert. His ears were cocked forward as he listened intently. There was a gasp punctuated by a particularly harsh male voice speaking in threatening tones.

Not hesitating he plunged into the alley. At its far end, he came upon a chilling tableau. There were three males and four females. One male wearing flashy clothes and jewelry was holding a female that was obviously a street walker by the throat against the alley wall. The other two males were obviously muscle that bracketed the pair providing backup. The other females stood huddled together in obvious fear.

"Release her!" He growled threateningly.

The pimp jerked his head toward the intruder but didn't release the female.

"This ain't got nothing to do with you, punk! Get lost!" The pimp snarled. "Trigger, Buck see him off." He ordered his muscle.

The two thugs grinned with pleasure and moved to force Feral to leave. Growling in his throat, the sound going even deeper, Feral altered to his war form and gave a roar that made the pair of thugs turn pale, scream in terror, and back up down the alley.

The pimp gaped at the transformed Kat in paralyzed fear.

"Let her go!" Feral rumbled in that gravely voice he had in this form.

"S-s-ssure!" The pimp stuttered, letting go of the female hurriedly and beginning to back away.

"I wouldn't run if I were you. I love the chase and I can kill you before you get two paces." Feral warned coldly.

The pimp froze in place and waited, body shaking in terror. His thugs freezing behind him.

The she-kat he'd been threatening shivered in terror and moved to huddle with the others. They watched Feral like rabbits before a predator.

Feral approached the pimp and crowded the punk. Sheer terror made the Kat wet himself. He trembled but didn't move. The dark tom wrinkled his nose at the odor but didn't remark on it.

"I'll only give you one warning. I live around here and I'm the Chief Enforcer of this city. You attempt to be a pimp to anyone ever again, I'll see you in jail or dead depending in which mood I'm in at the time. So get lost and find another form of employment." He hissed in the guy's face.

"Y-y-yes sir!" The pimp sputtered.

"Git!" Feral roared. The pimp jumped nearly out of his fur before turning and fleeing, his thugs hugging his heels.

Feral sighed, then glanced over at the terrified females. "No need to be afraid of me. I wish you'd find some other form of work. This is no life for a she-kat. Go home and get some rest. He'll not bother you ever again. If you insist on continuing then try to do it without a pimp if you can. They don't care about you in the first place. Good night to you all." Feral said quietly, then went back toward the street, leaving them alone.

The females could only eye him in trepidation and watch him walk away. When they couldn't see him anymore only then did they hurry home. Not as frightened as they had been since on the way home they realized the terrifying creature had only meant to help them. By the time they got to their homes, they were feeling relief, a savior lived in their neighborhood. Perhaps things would be better finally. One could hope..

No one was around by the time he reached the street so he took back his normal form once more. He grimaced at the torn sweatsuit. The top was nothing but shreds but the pants managed to survive the change. He sighed and went on home. At least now he would be able to get some sleep.


	23. Chapter 22: Coming Home to a Heroes Welc

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 22:** **Coming Home to a Heroes Welcome**

As Feral worried about Sheara, she was worried about her chances when she got home. What she'd told Feral was only the tip of the iceberg about her people. She sighed as she stared out the plane window as it began its descent to the home she'd been violently taken from.

Some thirty minutes later, the jet taxied to a special section of the airport. A large group waited for the jet to park and the door to be opened. The ladder truck hurried up and parked under the opening door. A red carpet was quickly unrolled at the bottom of the stairs.

Stepping out into the brilliant sunset, the former prisoners deplaned to loud cheers and the sound of a band playing their national anthem. The Khan of the Tymurr Federation with General Kylemar standing by his side waited at the end of the carpet.

As the returning soldiers walked down the carpet toward their leader, he bestowed a warm hug and greeting then they were swallowed up by a protective guard that would escort them to their temporary new quarters where they would be debriefed.

Sheara and two other females came down the ladder last. The cheers faltered somewhat at the sight of the females distended bellies. Holding their heads high, the females moved to stand before their leader.

His eyes held sorrow and anger mixed. These she-kats had paid a heavy price and should not be ostracized but his was an old country and traditions were deeply entrenched. Though he would issue an order that they not be harassed nor treated like pariah because of something that was not their fault, he simply could not change the people's attitudes on the subject of unwed mothers.

Regardless, he would do all in his power to aid his former soldiers as much as he was allowed. Right now, he gave each the same warm greeting he had their male compatriots, showing to all that he held them in just as much high regard as the males and honoring their sacrifice for their world's peace bought at so great a price.

Their news agencies were filled with the stories of what had transpired with their kidnaped soldiers, how the females became pregnant, the disposition of the one responsible for the war, and the damage the world needed to recover from.

Many were the conversations, in offices, restaurants, churches, in homes, and on the street. But the biggest uproar was the pregnant females. The country was divided about how they should be treated. One side were sympathetic to the female's plight and wished only to help them, while the rest were scandalized and felt the female's didn't try hard enough to avoid this happening to them despite the fact they could not have prevented it. Add to the fact was the astonishment at the soldiers new abilities. Some were afraid of them while others thought it was a cool ability.

For Sheara and the two others, it was the beginning of a long nightmare. It had been alright when they were surrounded by their fellow soldiers. They'd been shown nothing but care and sympathy but once they were allowed to finally go to their homes, here they were met with varying reactions.

One was fortunate to have a more open minded family who gave her a heroes welcome and protection from the harsh condemnation of their fellow neighbors and co-workers.

The second one wasn't so fortunate. Her family shunned her and tossed her from her home. She maintained a strong front in the face of their coldness and collected her belongings and returned to the base where she'd been told she would still be welcomed despite not being allowed to remain a soldier.

Sheara's welcome was mixed at best. Her favorite uncle met her at the base and drove her to their mountain home. He had come alone and filled the awkwardness with a constant stream of questions. She was grateful to him and tried to answer them as best she could.

She had been spared a great deal of the back lash due to her high position in the military but that only helped a little. She was very nervous about greeting the rest of her extended family and especially, the small core group of deeply devoted and rigid traditionalist that were the oldest members of her family. They had frowned on her entering the service in the first place and now here she was pregnant. It was scandalize.

Her uncle tried to soften the blow he knew she would have to endure at the paws of this core group. She was only able to give him a wane smile for his efforts. He reached across the seat and gave her paw a warm squeeze of encouragement as he pulled into the drive of their family estate.

She had always thought her family's ancestral home to be the most lovely place on the planet. The huge two story main house sat under a canopy of shade trees with smaller homes dotting the landscape on either side. The estate itself was surrounded by a high, white wall of stone and stucco. Vegetable and flower gardens abounded everywhere. They even had their own small stockyard to the far rear of the estate where they kept chickens, cows, ducks, and horses. A small playground was placed in the center of a large flower garden and partly under the trees to the right of the main house. At the moment, she could see about eight kittens playing there under the watchful eye of a twenty something youngster.

As the car moved up the curved drive and parked out front the main mansion, a crowd came pouring out. Leading the way were her mother and father. Their arms were open wide to welcome her. She sighed mentally in relief as she was engulfed within their loving arms.

At least her parents had not turned on her. They led her up the stairs surrounded by younger cousins, aunts and uncles. None of the older ones were present. This told her just how they felt about the situation.

A meal was laid out waiting and she was hurriedly taken to a seat between her parents. She realized they had done this to shelter her from the coming storm. Everyone sat and the older ones deigned to arrive last and sit at the end of the table, disapproving looks on their grim faces.

She refused to allow them to upset her as she ate and answered the questions of her many young cousins. When dinner was finished, the youngsters were sent packing. With her head held high, Sheara and her parents went into the formal sitting room and sat on a love seat together. Once everyone was comfortable the questioning began.

"How could you allow yourself to be so used?" Her grandmother said scathingly.

In crisp military fashion, Sheara told of her capture, the tortures she had endured sparing no detail, the alteration of her form, and the forced mating.

The group's faces reflected horror, anger and grief. There was a moment of long silence then her grandfather began to question her more pointedly. He would have been great as an interrogator for the military she thought, as he poked and prodded every detail from her until she was limp with exhaustion at its end.

"This business of changing your form, demonstrate it for us!" He demanded.

"I can't. We were warned that the change could abort the foetus." Sheara said flatly.

Her grandfather frowned suspiciously. It was apparent he didn't believe her about the ability but before he could ask more questions, her mother finally put an end to it.

"Enough, father. Can't you see she's tuckered out. It's been a very long day what with her long flight home, then the debriefing at the base and now your intense questioning." Her mother chided her father-in-law firmly.

He humphed but conceded she was right and released Sheara. Her mother walked with her to her room and helped her undress. Sheara knew the real reason her mother was puttering about and waited patiently until the older she kat got around to it.

"My sweet, can you tell me who the male is that was forced to do this thing?" Her mother asked hesitantly.

Sheara smiled warmly. "Not yet mother. I need to see what grandfather says about my situation before I reveal who he is and get him involved." She said gently.

Her mother sighed unhappily. "I was just hoping I would learn something about him is all."

"Well I can tell you he's brave and was willing to aid me if I so desired. He's powerful and handsome in a rugged kind of way and that's all I'm willing to say." Sheara said.

"Oh, he sounds like a fine fellow then. Alright, I'll wait until everything is settled but it will be hard. Get some rest love. Sleep tight." Her mother said coming to her side and giving her a warm hug good night.

"Thanks mom. Good night."

When her mother closed the door behind her, Sheara quickly set about making it secure as well as the window. Though no one in her close family would think to do her harm, she hadn't missed the looks of fury on a few distant relative's faces. It didn't hurt to see to her security like the good soldier she was.

The next morning revealed her precautions had been a good idea as the attempts to get into her room attested when she checked the door. Sighing in disappointment, she dressed in a comfortable and loose top as well as a pair of sweat pants which were the only things that would fit her at the moment.

After a quiet breakfast with just her parents, she wandered the house and grounds, keeping her eyes alert for trouble but fortunately no one bothered her, allowing her peace after her terrible ordeal.

She settled into a routine of mild exercise that included long walks and riding horses as the days turned to weeks. During that time, she had received two calls from Ulysses checking to see if she was alright. It had made her feel so much better to hear the sincere concern in his voice after this much time had passed. He apparently still wanted to be of help to her.

She told him things were alright so far but that she'd keep him informed if that changed then they would talk for a while about what he had said to the task force that she was no longer in the loop to hear. A smile of true pleasure and pride spread across her face as she listened to his report of what he'd proposed. She could plainly hear the passion in his voice as he related his hopes for what this proposal would accomplish for the world. If she had been seeking a mate, he would have been her choice.

After his first call, she began to watch the news more intently. Occasionally, her family would drift in to watch with her out of curiosity. Without giving it away that she knew him, she listened to her family make favorable comments about Ulysses and what he'd done for the world and his new proposals that everyone hoped would bring true peace to the world. They were much impressed with him, to her secret amusement.

Ulysses' second call had been a week later and was just a 'how are you' call but she appreciated it nonetheless. He was gradually getting under her fur even though all they'd done was trade phone calls.

Not too long after his second call, Sheara was called into another family meeting. Again her parents provided her their support as she faced the group once more.

Her parents looked unhappy and tense this time around. It didn't look like this was going to be good news. She sat with her back straight and her attention fixed on her grandfather.

"Sheara, it is the decision of the family that you be given three choices. One, to be married to Janard Freeborn who has requested your paw despite you being pregnant, two, marry the male who is the father of the kitten, or three, depart this place and be welcome here no more." He said flatly.

Inside she cried in angry frustration and shock, outwardly she stiffened and presented an uncompromising face. Speaking in her usual clipped military fashion she said evenly, "So family means nothing. You wish to treat me, a decorated officer, as pariah, unfit, and unwanted. Is this how you want to be seen by your country......as cruel and inhumane to one who has suffered for the safety of your world?"

Her grandfather reared back in angry surprise. He had expected an argument or even tears of remorse and requests for forgiveness but to be told he was being unpatriotic was a total shock.

"I am a good patriot. This has nothing to do with our country but everything to do with family." He said sharply.

"Family is the heart of our country's beliefs. You cannot separate one from the other so blithely. I have done my duty for my country what have you done recently?" She challenged him.

"How dare you?"

"How dare **you**. You are the ones that are calling my honor into question. I did nothing to earn such enmity except to fall into a cruel and deadly enemy's paws that would have destroyed our home. You are being as cruel and inhumane as that monster that hoped to take over the world and impose a peace of his own making." Sheara said flatly.

Her grandfather stared at her in horror. Now she was calling **him **a monster. He sputtered but was unable to voice his ire coherently.

Standing suddenly, Sheara glared at all the ones sitting there in judgement. Surprisingly, none was able to meet her gaze after her outburst except for her scandalized grandfather.

"I will not be forced to marry anyone. However, I will invite the male who is responsible for saving us all to visit. Commander Ulysses Feral, the one who made an eight day trek across treacherous mountains to sound the alarm and gather forces to defeat the monster, the one who set forth the proposals all the countries of the world are now considering to bring true peace to the world, and the one who is the father of my kitten." She said coldly then before anyone could react to that bombshell, she stalked regally out of there and went to her room.

Her brave front crumbled in the privacy of her bedroom. Tears of anger and sorrow fell unheedingly down her face as she lay sprawled across her bed. 'How dare they!' She thought angrily. 'I don't deserve to be treated that way by my family just as poor Lendra didn't deserve the treatment she got from hers.'

She cried for some while before getting control of herself once more. She pulled out her cell phone and called Ulysses forgetting to check the time. A groggy deep voice answered, reminding her it was the middle of the night in Megakat City.

"Oh Ulysses, I'm sorry. I was so upset I failed to realize what time it was." She apologized.

"Sheara? It's okay. What happened to upset you." He asked, more awake now. He rolled over and listened. He could hear a faint hoarseness in her voice that told him she had been crying. His newly increased hearing was truly amazing but sometimes he wished it wasn't so acute.

She sighed and told him what had happened and what she'd done and said. "I'm sorry but when he said that I just saw red. How dare he treat me like I was a commodity to be used."

"Shhh, easy. I don't blame you for being angry but this is your country's traditions. You can't expect them to just toss them out for you. But, I agree, I do find the attitude a bit harsh when it truly wasn't your fault. Don't worry, I'll be out to you on the next flight." He reassured her, so glad he had a very competent second now that allowed him to just up and leave when he wanted or needed to.

"Oh no, I didn't mean for you to just drop everything and run here......" She began to object before he cut her off.

"No, truly, it's not a problem for me. After all I'm the boss." He said injecting a bit of humor to soothe her. "I'll call when I know what flight I can get and see you sometime tomorrow. Should I come in uniform?" He asked.

"Well, if you're certain. Yes, your uniform would be a good touch when you see them but you need to stop and see General Kylemar first or I'll never hear the end of it." She warned lightly.

He snorted and promised he would pay his respects before reassuring her again that he'd be there soon then they hung up.

She sighed in relief. He really was a great tom, dropping everything to come to her aid....he was every she-kats dream. With her mind more at ease she decided to take a nap.


	24. Chapter 23: Arriving in the Tymurr Feder

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 23:** **Arrival in the Tymurr Federation**

Feral was glad Sheara summoned him. He'd been worrying about her a great deal lately and the two phone calls he'd made hadn't satisfied his need to be with her. It seemed strange that he was becoming rather obsessed with her lately which was odd since he had very little contact with her when they were prisoners.

Unbidden, the day he spent entirely in her company floated unexpectedly through his mind causing him to blush in confusion. How had he remembered that? Then again, how had he forgotten it?

That could be partly the reason he was so taken with her when they hadn't traded more than a few conversations between them. Apparently, their more primal selves had decided they were meant for each other. Normally, he wouldn't buy into that notion but he'd been through far too much strange stuff lately to ignore the possibility.

Whatever the reason, he was presently on the phone trying to catch a flight to the Tymurr Federation and getting permission to enter the country through their embassy. By the time he got up in the morning, his plans were made.

All he had left to do was brief Steele he was taking a short leave of a few days. Steele got an odd look in his eyes as he listened to Feral's instructions and where he was going.

"This wouldn't have to do with a certain pregnant female would it, sir?" He asked carefully.

Feral blushed a bit. "It might. She's in a bit of a jam and I'm supposed to help her out." He said a bit too casually.

"That's really good of you, sir. Have a nice flight." Steele said noncommitally.

When Feral had left to go pack and prepare for his flight, Steele couldn't help but smile in pleased relief. He hadn't missed how restless the Commander had been of late and now he knew why. He hoped things would work out between the female and Feral. He needed something good to happen to him after all he'd been through.

Feral hummed to himself as he hurried to catch his flight a couple of hours later. He was greeted warmly as he got on board then found his seat. It was a six hour flight through two time zones and he was going to be wiped out when he got there unless he took the precaution to take a nap on the flight. At least he'd arrive not looking like a jet lagged rookie. He settled comfortably into his seat and let his mind drift to sleep, not being as hard as he thought it would be since his sleep last night had been disrupted.

He woke with the sound of the pilot notifying them of their arrival in Tymurr Federation airspace and that they'd be landing in twenty minutes. Stretching as best he could in the cramped seat, he shook himself the rest of the way awake and was pleased to note he was more alert, the nap had helped.

His plane landed without incident and he was now walking through the concourse to the baggage claim area. He was recognized before he was able to take the stairs down to get his bags by a harried but smiling military officer.

"Commander Feral, sir. Welcome to the Tymurr Federation. I'm Major Brikser." He said in a rush.

Feral stopped and shook the Major's paw. "A pleasure to meet you. Is there a reason for you to meet me here?" He asked amiably as he continued on down the stairs with the Major clinging to his side like a happy puppy.

"Yes sir. I'm to be your escort and driver for your stay here. General Kylemar asked if you would be so kind as to stop and see him before leaving for the business you're here for, if that's alright with you." He said promptly.

"Of course. I had planned to visit the General when I arrived so it works for me." Feral answered politely while searching for his bag. It showed up a moment later and he quickly snatched it from the revolving belt.

"Please, allow me to carry it, sir."

Feral sighed mentally but allowed the excitable Kat to carry his bag. The youngster was probably all of thirty years old, slim built but well muscled with slate gray fur and buzz cut blue/black hair and deep green eyes. He wore a dark blue uniform that was pressed and clean.

'He must be a sharp mind and good officer to have made Major so young.' Feral thought. He didn't hold the tom's present behavior against him nor assumed this was how this Kat behaved normally.

Ever since his part of the war had been aired on the news, he'd been receiving nearly worshipful responses from everyone he met. It was very embarrassing. This young fellow was no exception. He sighed and prepared to be fawned over for the next couple of hours until he could get away to see Sheara.

The drive to the military base took only fifteen minutes and very soon he was being ushered into a pleasantly furnished office. Just rising from a polished oak desk was a powerful looking older tom who stood as tall as Feral. His iron gray fur, distinguished white hair and piercing blue eyes gave him a commanding air.

"Commander Feral. It is a pleasure to meet the one who made our freedom possible." General Kylemar said warmly as he reached out a huge paw and shook the dark tom's equally large paw.

"The pleasure is mine, sir."

"Do you have the time to chat with me? I don't want to impose on your time here." He asked politely.

"I'd be happy to spend a little time with you sir. I'm not on a tight schedule but I do want to get to the reason I'm here fairly soon." Feral demurred easily.

"Excellent, Jason please get us some coffee and see that I'm not disturbed for about thirty minutes." He ordered the Major then gestured Feral toward a set of comfortable chairs.

For the next little while, the General peppered Feral with many questions. He was very interested in hearing the dark tom's personal experiences at the compound.

He was shaking his head when he closed the visit. "You are one very lucky tom, Commander. What a harrowing thing to have to endure. I'm sorry to hear that none of you can be returned to normal though they won't stop trying to figure out a way."

"I'm reconciled to it sir. As a matter of fact, I've asked the task force to spread the word to the rest of my fellow prisoners that this may be handy in their field rather than a handicap. If they view it that way, no one should really succumb to depression for that reason though I'm certain the treatment we endured will have some far reaching consequences we can't see now and counseling will be necessary." Feral said quietly.

"Including yourself?" The General said mildly, certain this Kat would be one of those that had to be forced kicking and screaming to a counselor.

Feral had the good grace to blush. "Yeah, I know. We're all pigheaded and reluctant to seek that kind of aid and I admit I'm the worst of the lot but I'm also fortunate to have a circle of caring individuals that watch me and get rather pushy with me to insure I take care of myself."

"You are indeed a fortunate Kat then. Your viewpoint on how to deal with it is a good one and I'll see that my own returnees are briefed on their options." The General said as they both stood up. "Well, Commander. I won't keep you any longer. Thank you for allowing me to 'rake' you over some painful memories again. It's given me a better perspective of what went on."

"You're welcome sir. I do have one more thing to say though. The female soldiers from your country....." Feral began before the General smoothly interrupted him.

"I know. It's really not fair how they are being treated. One I've heard was fortunate to have an accepting family while another was completely rejected. She's been accepted back at the base for now."

"That's what I mean sir. Traditions that entrenched can't be just pushed aside and we really can't make people accept what they won't. But in this case, since traditions are the cause of them losing their careers as well as their homes, I would like to offer them a position in my enforcers if they desire it or they can see if one of the other countries nearby would accept them. They shouldn't have to lose everything due to this madkat, they've lost so much already." Feral urged persuasively.

The General eyed him silently for a moment. "You are a compassionate Kat, Commander. I should have thought of that option myself. I will certainly speak with the three females and see if they wish to take you up on your generous offer or advice. Thank you. It was a sore point with me as to what to do for these she-kats and that is an excellent suggestion."

"You're welcome, sir. Here is my card, if any wishes to call me." Feral said, relief in his heart as he handed over a business card.

"Excellent." The General said with a warm smile as he took the card. "Have a good visit in our country, Commander. If there is anything you need or a problem solved, please don't hesitate to contact me."

"Thank you, I appreciate the offer, sir. Good day."

"Goodbye Commander, safe journey home." The general said, giving Feral a friendly slap on the back as he saw him out his office door.

Once Feral was free, the Major popped up by his side again and he was soon being escorted back to the car and finally on his way to Sheara's. He hoped nothing bad had happened since her phone call last night.

Thankfully the Major wasn't given to chatter so he was able to think about the upcoming meeting with Sheara's family. He was surprised to realize he was suffering butterflies in his stomach just thinking of this. 'I'm acting as if I was her fiancé, but then perhaps I am.' He thought, a little bewildered at himself.

_The day before........_

After taking a nap, she felt a little better. She got up and showered then went outside for a walk before dinner. No one bothered her.

At the dinner table, she made it clear she would not discuss the matter any further but did talk of inconsequential things with her parents while giving the cold shoulder to the core group that sat uncomfortably at the end of the table from her.

Her grandfather glared at her but had too good a manners start a fight at the dinner table. The rest of the family were subdued but it didn't stop them from relaying whatever interesting things that happened that day.

She went to bed early, taking the same security precautions as she did every night. The next morning, she grabbed a light breakfast from the kitchen and disappeared into the woods and stables. It wasn't until nearly the time Ulysses was to arrive that she returned, took a shower and waited nervously.

She didn't know why, but this tom she barely knew except for that one intimate moment in their primal forms, made her feel at ease. They hadn't spent much time in each others company after the rescue and only the three phone calls and two other brief conversations had been traded between she felt close to him nonetheless. She suspected, as Ulysses had, that their primal selves had determined they were right for each other. What a strange feeling.

At this moment, as she waited impatiently for him to arrive, she felt giddy and excited, as if they had been long time lovers long separated and were now looking forward to their reunion. She felt out of her depth here, having not had many relationships to speak of over her life in the military. It had just not seemed that important to her. Now things had changed dramatically.

Last night she thought hard about what she wanted to do next with her life. Being in the military was all she ever wanted and that had been snatched away, at least, it had here. If she went to another country, with her background, she had no doubt she'd find a new place in another's military service.

She toyed with the idea of accepting Ulysses' offer of joining his enforcers but then he would be her superior and that might not be a very comfortable position. However, the idea of accepting a position elsewhere had no appeal.

The only other hesitation she had in accepting his offer was the heightened danger inherent in living and being an enforcer in Megakat City. It wasn't an exaggeration to say it was the most insane place to live in the world. However, since she and Ulysses could alter their forms perhaps that might give them the edge needed to finally put an end to the threat to his city. It was worth a thought.

The last concern she had was leaving her family. She had no desire to live here forever but she did want the right to come home to visit and share the stories of her life and bring her kitten to meet its relatives. What happened between her and her grandfather must not keep her from her family ties. No matter what, she would ensure she would be welcome anytime she returned home long before she made the decision to leave.


	25. Chapter 24: Meeting the Relatives

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 24:** **Meeting the Relatives**

Feral was drawn out of his thoughts by their arrival before a huge estate. His eyebrows rose at the sight. He hadn't known Sheara's family was the landed wealthy. It was a beautiful place and he admired it as the car drove up the long drive.

When the car halted at the front of the mansion, the huge double doors fairly erupted with excited people. He blinked as Sheara was followed by a very large following. He'd been so startled, that he hadn't made a move to open the door to the car yet. Major Briksor had exited and was now opening his door as if he was someone very important. That made him shake off his shock and get out of the vehicle. As he unfolded his body to stand, he towered over most of the relatives that nearly surrounded him.

"Wow! He's tall!" Came many an excited whisper from several young fems standing huddled in an awed clutch to his left. "And big!"

Sheara managed to get to his side though she was being jostled a great deal. She turned her back to him and shouted, "Enough! Give us room. You have better manners than this."

Embarrassed, the kittens fled back inside in a mad rush. Finally, there were only a pawful of older Kats and Sheara left standing outside.

She turned back around, a blush on her face. "I'm terribly sorry Ulysses. I......"

Raising his paw to halt her, he smiled warmly. "That's alright. I understand perfectly." Then he leaned close so only she could hear him, "I'm trying to get used to the notoriety but its hard."

She grinned, saying teasingly, "Well, you shouldn't have saved the world if you didn't want to be fawned over." Keeping her voice low as well.

A tug of humor pulled at his mouth and eyes as he stood straight again. Very pleased at his presence and enjoying teasing him, she put a more formal look on her face and made proper introductions.

"This is Commander Ulysses Feral, Chief Enforcer of Megakat City. Commander, this is my family, the Wenstar Clan." She said then pointed to each person who shook Feral's paw until all had been introduced.

"Welcome to our home, sir. You do us a great honor by your visit. Please enter our home." Her grandfather said formally.

"I thank you for your generous offer of hospitality and I accept the invitation." Feral said equally formal back.

Taking Sheara's arm in his, he let her lead the way into the mansion. The foyer was huge with a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and veined amber marble on the floor. Beautiful paintings graced the walls and huge bouquets of flowers in decorative urns were placed here and there as they walked down a richly carpeted hallway.

He was being taken to what appeared to be their formal sitting room. Sheara led him to a loveseat that wouldn't allow anyone else to sit near them. He was alright with that. He found to his discomfort, that he didn't like anyone being too close to Sheara. It made his inner tiger very protective as well as possessive. That wasn't a good combination right now when he needed to stay polite and calm.

It really wouldn't make a very good impression for him to turn tiger and kill all those he felt were rivals even though he knew that was really ridiculous since these were her relatives but his tiger didn't care about blood relationships.

Sheara could feel Ulysses tense up beside her and her nose detected a rise in testosterone from him. Her own tiger reacted to that by wanting to rub against him to calm him down but she couldn't do that in full view of a roomful of family. The best she could do was to move the paw that was behind him at the moment and gently caress his back soothingly.

Feral blinked in surprise, Sheara was caressing his back and it had the effect of calming his tiger, much to his relief.

Sheara was relieved when she felt Ulysses relax somewhat. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and waited for her grandfather to start his questioning. She wished he would wait until they'd had dinner and were more relaxed (and so she could at least have a moment alone with Uly). But she knew that was simply too much to ask of her tradition and hide bound elder.

"Commander Feral, please forgive what I must ask but my granddaughter's fate is in question. It is the custom of our land that all females that are pregnant be married unless their mate is dead. It matters not that it wasn't her fault she became this way, the fact remains that she is and it must now be dealt with." Her grandfather began ponderously.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, sir. With all due respect for your customs, I have offered to take up my responsibilities but Sheara did not want to entrap me for something that was neither of our faults. I respect her wishes and will not make any demand of her." Feral interrupted politely but firmly.

Her grandfather's expression became thunderous with anger. "What do her wishes matter in this?" He demanded. "It is your kitten is it not?"

"It is."

"Then she will do her duty and wed you. That is the end of the matter." He growled.

"I was brought up to respect a she-kat's wishes in such important matters. It is her body, her decision. Forcing a person to do something against their wishes is against the laws of my country." Feral said frostily, his temper rising.

"But it is the custom of ours, sir, that our females who are pregnant be cared for so that their progeny will be protected. This is why we have this tradition." Her grandfather explained firmly.

"I understand and that is commendable but it is still forcing a female to accept a male she has not chosen as her mate and that is illegal and wrong in the eyes of my country's laws. As an officer of the law, I cannot contingence such an action." Feral said equally firm.

Her grandfather was getting red in the face with fury. Her father suddenly interceded as he could see the huge tom beginning to bristle with anger of his own. This was a warrior and his father shouldn't be goading him like this. It was too dangerous.

"Father! You shame us with your behavior before such an honored guest. He must abide by his country's rules. We cannot make him obey ours simply because Sheara bears his kitten. It would cause an international incident and I doubt the Khan would look favorably on us for insulting and angering the person who has saved our whole world." He said urgently, trying to make his father see reason.

Her grandfather sucked in a breath and tried to rein in his temper. As much as it annoyed him that his son had interrupted, he knew Liam was right. He tread on dangerous ground here. He eyed the powerful tom carefully. The gold eyes stared at him coldly and something else was peeking out through those eyes as well, something that suddenly sent a thrill of fear down his spine.

'Fool! Have you so quickly forgotten you're goading a tiger sitting there in the guise of a Kat?' He warned himself. Smoothing his features into a more conciliatory expression he spoke more calmly.

"Please forgive me, Commander. I tend to get carried away when it comes to the traditions of my people. I meant no offense. I am understandably upset and concerned for my unwed grandkitten's progeny. It just isn't acceptable for her to remain unattached. She has been asked to wed another who is interested in providing for her if you are not an acceptable mate." He said cautiously.

Feral had worked hard to control his tiger and his temper. After all, he was a guest in this country and it wouldn't look good if he got into a wrangle with its citizens on a matter so delicate but when the old Kat mentioned another would take his mate he saw red.

Before he could control his impulse, his body morphed into his warform in the blink of an eye and he roared in fury. His powerful body now stood tall enough to nearly brush the ceiling and his uniform had suffered multiple rips as his body pushed its way upward. It looked more like rags than the pristine uniform it had been moments before.

The room went still as death and all the Kats there except for Sheara, cowered in shocked fear. The door to the room burst open and several middle aged family members hurried in having heard the commotion but they too halted in shocked fear.

Sheara jumped to her feet and pressed her body against her enraged mate. Feral was far too angry though and snapped at her. She hissed back at him and suddenly boxed his nose though she had to reach up to do so.

He yelped and ducked his head for a moment then leaned down so their faces were close. He blinked his gold eyes in confusion and eyed her questioningly.

Relaxing her stance now that he was focused on her, she rumbled a purr of conciliation. "Sorry, Ulysses. Couldn't have you ripping my grandfather apart even if he deserved it for that suggestion. Calm yourself and change back. I think you've frightened everyone enough right now." A trace of amusement was in her voice as she coaxed him to stand down.

For the first time since he'd altered, Feral noticed all the frightened Kats around him. Mortified, he hurriedly changed back to normal. He was even more embarrassed at his now shabby appearance.

Sheara sighed and shook her head. Pressing her mate to sit down, she turned to her grandfather. "That was singularly the most stupidest thing I have ever witnessed you do grandfather. I know you didn't forget that we are now more than we used to be and goading a tiger that could kill you in the blink of an eye was not the smartest thing you could have done." She chided him. "What were you thinking?"

Her grandfather swallowed and took a deep calming breath. He couldn't take his eyes off the now quiet tom sitting behind Sheara. What a formidable creature he was and he realized so was his granddaughter.

'My God! She needed no protector! She was just as deadly as the male behind her.' He thought, finally believing the stories he had heard. However, something bothered him about the tom's reaction. Once he recovered his dignity, he frowned and dared to ask something he knew might anger the tom again but it needed asking.

"Why did he get angry? He already said he wouldn't force you and he said you refused his offer of marriage. So why did he become so furious?" He asked, confused.

Sheara paused in surprise. She turned to look into Ulysses' eyes and saw confusion there as well. "I don't know." She said hesitantly.

"I'm not so certain either except that I believe our primal selves have decided we're mates because we did mate while you were under an enforced heat." Feral said, spreading his paws in frustration. "You know our primal selves are rather pushy when they don't get what they want and apparently we aren't being given a choice here."

Sheara cocked her head to the side and frowned. "What did you feel when he said that about another male wanting me?" She asked curiously.

Blushing Feral said, "Blind possessiveness."

She blinked at that and didn't know what to say.

"Sheara!" Her grandfather called to her. She turned to look back at him.

"When he reacted so did you. You leaped to stand in front of him without fear and boxed his nose. You behaved exactly as if you were his mate and he responded as if he was. So tell me, if you aren't mates what are you?" He asked bluntly.

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Closing it she frowned harder then threw up her paws in frustrated confusion. "I don't know!"

She looked back at Ulysses. "Don't look at me. I'm just as confused as you are." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Her grandfather nodded. Perhaps all was not lost after all. Perhaps all they needed was time to sort out their feelings, after all they never really had time to according to what he heard about their rescue then subsequent debriefing. At no time did the two actually have time together except for that one unfortunate moment that brought them to this point.

"Sheara, might I suggest the two of you spend time together and sort out your feelings and motivations? I will not pursue this matter any longer for I feel it has already been decided. You two just need to know it for yourselves but if after discussing it you still feel you are not right for each other, I will not push you to mate with anyone else since it is obvious to all you are quite capable of taking care of yourself." He said quietly.

She stared at her grandfather as if he'd grown two heads. That was the wisest thing she'd ever heard him say before. He was usually too hide bound to entertain a different point of view but here he was offering one to them. Such a thing had never happened before. Perhaps he'd finally seen the light. Well one could certainly hope so. It was a refreshing change.

"Well that's the first sensible thing I've heard you say in a long time grandfather and for once I agree with it." She said, sighing. "Come, Ulysses, let me take you to my room so you can change your clothes and we can talk."

Thoroughly confused by the sudden turn of events, Feral followed her without protest.

Everyone sighed in relief as the pair made their way out of the room and headed up the broad staircase just to the right of the parlor.

Sheara's father was relieved things had settled down and now maybe they could move forward. Privately, he looked forward to having such a powerful son-in-law in their family. He was already planning the wedding in his mind. A glance over at his wife revealed she was thinking the same thing. They traded small secret smiles.


	26. Chapter 25: Not Everyone is Happy

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 25:** **Not Everyone is Happy**

Feral felt completely bewildered by his incredibly inappropriate behavior in front of her relatives. That had been soo embarrassing. He was grateful to escape all the still frightened eyes that followed them out of the room.

He wondered if he should just leave and return home, allowing distance to help them ease away from each other, that is, if that's what Sheara wanted. As for himself, he was totally at sea about what he wanted at this point. He certainly hadn't entertained the idea of getting married and having kittens but he couldn't very well turn his back on the fact he was going to become a father whether he was married or not.

If he was truly honest with himself, he would admit he had missed Sheara when they were apart even though, technically, they were never really together. 'Oh this is getting waaay too confusing.' He groaned mentally, beginning to get a headache.

If their primitive selves were given the choice they would make their more civilized minds accept what they already knew was a done deal.

Apparently, Sheara was thinking the same thing because she was shaking her head and looking just as bewildered but resigned as he was.

"As much as I never intended to be married nor have kittens, the point is moot since I am pregnant and my primitive self feels we are mates regardless of how I feel emotionally about this whole mess." She said as she gestured for him to enter her room then closed the door behind them.

Feral grimaced unhappily. "That's my conclusion as well but it bites my tail that we are seemingly being railroaded into marriage without any say from our more intelligent side of this equation." He huffed in annoyance.

Sheara sighed and shared his frustration. It wasn't that she didn't like him but....well....gee she didn't really **know** him in the first place and that was the true crux of the matter.

"Well, my grandfather was correct about one thing......we need to spend some time together to get where our primitive selves already are.....uh.....that is if we decide not to buck our other selves on the subject."

Feral rubbed his neck and looked around the room to give himself some time to think. Her room was large and comfortable. A huge queen sized bed was situated to the left of him. It had a dark gold satin coverlet with an absurd looking stuffed tiger in the center of it. A dark oak dresser was to one side of the closet, which was a walk in, and on the other side of the room was a workstation with a modern computer on it. The walls had some tasteful and expensive art on them. Through a barely opened door, he could see a very nice, large bathroom. Her window looked out over the back yard of their estate.

He turned back to her and sighed. "Perhaps you're right. I certainly don't have any other ideas."

Sheara went to sit on the bed and gestured for him to have a seat on a plush armchair placed near the window.

He sat reluctantly and looked over at her. For several long minutes they didn't speak....too uncomfortable with the situation. Sheara looked past Ulysses to the view outside the window.

Glancing back at him after a few minutes, she asked, "Would you like to change into something comfortable then go for a walk around the estate?"

He thought about it a moment. It would get them out of the house which was beginning to make him feel closed in and get them away from prying ears he suspected were hovering not far away.

"Good idea. Where are did they put my suitcase?" He asked, standing up.

She blushed and pointed toward her closet. His eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Well the way my grandfather felt about this in the first place, he expected you to take up your rights immediately. So it's not surprising your things would have been put in here." She said, shrugging then smiling suddenly in amusement.

He couldn't help chuckling with her at the absurdity of their situation.

"I will make sure you're given a room of your own when things have calmed down which should be by the time we return from our walk." She said archly.

Feral snorted, went to the closet, took out his suitcase and opened it. He pawed around for some suitable clothing then shut his case and made for the bathroom to change.

Sheara sighed and couldn't resist staring at Ulysses' tight rear and very nice fluffy tail as he stalked into the bathroom to disappear behind the closing door. Like most military members, he was a fast dresser and was soon back at his suitcase in less than ten minutes. Closing it, he placed it against the wall and gave her his attention.

She was pleased with his attire. He'd dressed in a pair of black jeans with a simple pull over polo shirt of yellow that set off his gold eyes beautifully and he was wearing a pair of white tennis shoes.

"You look very nice. Shall we go?" She said, smiling and leading the way out of her room.

"After you." He said politely smiling back, following close behind her and closing the door when they were both in the hall.

Walking toward the stairs then going down them, they encountered no one. They could hear the others but no one came into view, apparently giving them some semblance of privacy.

At the bottom of the staircase, Sheara took a sudden left and went through a wide hallway. They passed a library and a couple of offices and guest rooms before reaching a short cross hall with a set of large french doors at the end leading out to a huge covered and screened in veranda. Assorted comfortable outdoor furniture, small tables, and plants were placed tastefully around making a warm setting for enjoying the outdoors.

A huge built in brick barbeque was located at the far end of the veranda. A mini bar, sink, and fridge were to one side of it.

"Very nice set up you've got here." Feral said admiringly.

"Thank you. This is one of my favorite places during the summer when I'm here." Sheara said with a quiet smile.

She headed for a screen door a few feet away and stepped down to the wide green lawn that stretched out until it reached the edge of a forest. To the far left he could just make out some stables and tilled fields. To the right was a pool nestled close to the forest line with a hot tub gazebo nearby. A children's play area lay just ahead of them.

Sheara paused on the lawn and turned toward him. "So what should we do? We can walk around the estate or go riding to get away from everyone. Have you ridden a horse before?" She asked.

"Yes, but it's been a long time."

"Care to refresh your skills?"

"I'm game."

She smiled at him and led the way to the stables. Inside were many stalls with beautiful stallions, geldings, and mares. He stopped by the stall of a handsome grey gelding.

"He's a nice fellow." Feral commented as the horse sniffed at his paw and allowed him to scratch his nose.

"That's Jimmy. He seems to like you and I know he would love to go out for a trot and he has a smooth gait that will allow you to relearn your riding skills." Sheara said warmly.

She went to a small office and had the stable crew prepare Jimmy and her stallion, Dagger for riding.

Dagger was a high spirited creature, his coat nearly coal black except for a white blaze on his forehead and one hind foot.

Soon they were both mounted and heading for the forest. Sheara set a slow pace to allow Ulysses time to get his 'seat' back.

Feral was pleased he hadn't really forgotten too much about riding and was soon moving easily beside Sheara as they went under the cool shadows of the quiet forest. They rode for some time, saying nothing, just enjoying the quiet and the beauty of the area, something they both never really had time for in their busy military life.

Sheara's family estate encompassed a very large area, much of it left in its natural state. They had ridden past the forest and were now moving up a gently hilly area with less trees but lots of shrubbery and tall grasses. She urged Dagger up a much steeper incline that led to a high point where she reined her mount in and waited for him to join her.

It took a little coaxing on his part to make Jimmy follow Dagger up the steep path. The gelding apparently didn't like high places too much but Feral gently persisted and finally convinced Jimmy to make the climb.

The gelding snorted unhappily when he was reined in next to the stallion and shied a bit in place. Gritting his teeth, Feral dug his heels in and pulled firmly on the bit until Jimmy settled.

Sheara eyed the dark tom in concern when Ulysses dismounted and began to rub his mount's face soothingly and purred at him.

"He really isn't usually this stubborn about heights. He doesn't like it but usually cooperates when a rider is firm with him. Is he going to be a problem for you?" She asked.

Feral looked up at her a moment before flicking his eyes around them.

"No, I don't think that **is** his problem." He growled, his senses on alert. Suddenly, Jimmy whickered and backed up as did Dagger.

Sheara kept an iron grip on her mount's rein while trying to determine why the horses were acting so spooked. Her eyes caught a flash of light. Looking off to her left to another small peak higher than where they stood, she saw the flicker again.

Frowning, she couldn't tell if it was a camera lens, binoculars or........a loud crack filled the air and something whined off a rock at their feet.

"Ulysses!" She cried, realizing it had been the scope of a rifle she'd seen.

Jimmy screamed and ripped the reins out of Feral's paw sending him flying to the ground on his back just as Dagger tore away with his rider holding on grimly while she tried to control him. Jimmy quickly vanished down the hillside heading home and Dagger was trying to do the same.

Feral quickly righted himself but stayed flat to the ground and looked around. He caught the flicker Sheara had seen. The sniper was still there waiting for a better shot. Eyes narrowed, Feral crawled backwards off the point until he reached a rock fall that allowed him to stand.

Rapidly shucking his clothes, he morphed to his tiger form and silently moved through the high grasses toward the hill where the threat lay waiting.

It took him only a few minutes to reach the other hillside. He stayed hidden in all the brush around him as he slowly snuck up on whoever it was ahead of him. His nose told him it wasn't someone that had been in the house when he'd arrived......a stranger?

The sniper cursed softly to himself as he took his rifle apart, put it in its case, then tried to sneak back down the hill without being seen. He might as well have shot up a flare as he was in the cross hairs of a much more deadly predator who watched him with cold gold eyes.

The sniper was just passing the spot Feral hid in when the tiger leaped out and slammed the Kat to the ground. The stranger dropped his case and screamed in terror as he stared up in horror at a mouth full of sharp teeth. Feral snorted when his nose caught the whiff of piss from his terrified captive. His prisoner whimpered in terror.

"Well, who have we here." Came Sheara's voice from behind him. Feral didn't move off his prisoner but did turn his head toward her.

She came around him and stared down at the Kat the tiger was laying on. Her eyes widened and fury lit them as she hissed, "How dare you? Because I didn't accept what the family decided, you think you can change things...... by what?.......trying to scare him or me.....just what were you thinking of Jericho?"

The Kat, named apparently Jericho, didn't answer, eyes huge with fear.

"Ulysses, please get off him." Sheara requested, patting the dark tiger on the shoulder.

Rumbling irritably in his throat, Feral didn't seem to want to obey but after another moment, he huffed and heaved his heavy form off the Kat and sat on his haunches nearby, never taking his eyes off the shaken male.

Said male hurriedly got to his feet and backed away a bit but didn't make the mistake of trying to run. Feral wished he had.

"Well, I'm waiting for an answer." Sheara snapped, bringing the tom's attention back to her.

Swallowing hard, Jericho couldn't stop flicking nervous glances at the huge predator glaring at him as he took a shaky breath and said, "Since you hadn't said yes to this stranger who is your kitten's father, Janard felt it was within his right to push his claim for you but it was thought, with him (pointing his chin at Feral) around you wouldn't come peacefully so he thought to take the competition out of the picture completely."

Sheara glared at Jericho. "You fools! How were you going to explain killing the one the world touts as its savior without repercussions? Our Khan would have you both hung without a trial for the offense and to appease the other outraged countries. Did you even think about that?" She demanded coldly.

Jericho blinked in surprise then looked over at the tiger. "He's the one that brought down the evil one?" He asked uncertainly.

"Yes!"

Jericho went paler than he already was. "I didn't know! Truly, Sheara, I didn't know!" He insisted, horrified at what he might have been a part of.

"Do you know if Freeborn knew?" Sheara demanded to know.

"I...I...really couldn't say." The tom said meekly, looking down at his feet.

"Well, I guess we're going to have to find out then." She said grimly. Looking over at the tiger she said, "You might as well as stay in that form, Uly since I'll need Jimmy to take this cretin back to the house."

Feral nodded his head. Sheara picked up the rifle case, shoved her shaken prisoner ahead of her to the horses she had managed to bring back. Feral carried his clothes to her in his mouth and she took them.

As they got close to the horses, the horses began to lunge around, eyes rolling in terror at the scent of a predator.

Sheara sighed and looked down at Feral. "Guess you better go on ahead of us, Uly."

He nodded his big head, paused to give the tom a warning look, then bounded off down the hill and disappeared in the tall grass.

Shuddering, Jericho got on Jimmy without protest while Sheara mounted Dagger, placing Feral's clothes and the rifle case before her then she kicked Dagger into a fast trot, wanting to get home quickly.


	27. Chapter 26: Coming to an Agreement

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 26: Coming to an Agreement**

Back at the house, the kittens had run outside to play on the swing set under the watchful eyes of two oldsters sitting on the porch drinking iced tea and discussing the newest events surrounding Sheara.

But the peaceful scene was rudely shattered when the kittens ran shrieking toward the veranda in terror. Coming up behind them, at a fast lope, was a dark tiger.

The oldsters screamed and yelled for help causing the males of the household to come pouring out of the house armed with guns.

The Patriarch of the clan was standing next to Sheara's father, Liam, as they watched the tiger slow down to a trot but continuing unhesitatingly, toward them. Since the tiger's coloring was the same as the dark tom and there were no tigers in this country, Sheara's father knew instantly who it had to be.

"Stand down, it's Commander Feral. Something must be wrong." Liam said urgently, as he moved past the door of the veranda and went to meet the tiger part way.

He shivered a little in fear at just how big Feral was as the huge animal came closer. 'Damn, he is one powerful cat. My daughter has chosen well.' He thought, licking his lips nervously as he halted suddenly in his tracks and allowed the tiger to finish his approach and sit on his haunches a few feet in front of him.

Feral snorted then swung his huge head around to look behind him. That's when Liam noted his daughter riding on her horse leading another horse with another male on it. Something bad had happened alright.

Everyone waited on the porch as Sheara guided her mount toward them then halted as she reached the swing set. She hadn't wanted the horses to bolt again due the close proximity of the tiger. A small group of Wenstar males ran to her side, two of them pulled Jericho from his horse and held him as Sheara dismounted. One of her relatives took charge of the horses and led them away while the rest walked to the house and the waiting group.

Sheara paused beside her mate and held out a bundle of clothes. "Here Ulysses."

He took them in his mouth then galloped toward the far side of the house away from the horses, vanishing from view. Moments later, he reappeared as a Kat, tugging down his shirt as he walked toward them. As he drew up close, his golden gaze glowered at the prisoner who whimpered, nervously, trying to get away from this formidable tom but Sheara's relatives held him tightly.

"Daughter, what has happened?" Her father asked in concern, behind him his father and the rest of the elders gathered to listen.

Sheara took a parade rest stance then recited the facts with cold precision. "I was taking Ulysses up to Bender's Point. We'd just arrived when the horses acted up. Ulysses had dismounted and was looking around while soothing Jimmy. It was then I spotted a flash of light to our left. I'd seen it too late before a shot was fired from a rifle. The shot hit the rocks in front of us sending the horses fleeing in a panic, me with them. I wrestled them back but by the time I'd returned the spot where the attack took place, Ulysses had managed to take down the sniper and held him for my arrival." She turned to the prisoner, her voice dripped venom as she added, "Jericho here says Freeborn had decided he didn't want to risk my accepting Ulysses as my mate so enlisted the aid of this idiot to take care of the problem. Apparently, Freeborn had failed to tell Jericho just who Ulysses was."

Her grandfather looked furious. He stepped forward and snatched the young male by the collar, the two holding him releasing their grip immediately.

Darren Wenstar, Patriach of the Wenstar Clan, could not believe the temerity of one of his own doing such an underhanded and dishonorable thing. Freeborn was not a member of their clan but Darren would be having words with the Firestar Clan's leader as soon as he dealt with Jericho. He shook the male hard until the youngling's teeth fairly rattled in his head.

"How dare you? No Wenstar has ever stooped to doing something so vile. You will be kept under guard until I decide what your punishment will be for this transgression." He snarled in the tom's face then held the shivering body away from him while he thought.

He eyed Jericho a long moment, a speculative look filling his eyes. He turned his glance toward the dark tom before returning his attention to the shivering tom in his grip, a cold smile beginning to crease his old face.

"Perhaps I should allow the offended party to run your sorry tail all over the estate as if you were a gazelle?" He threatened, nastily.

Jericho paled and shook but was smart enough not to answer that question. He was in enough trouble.

Snorting in disgust, Darren tossed the miscreant at the two toms. "Take him to the punishment room and guard him." He ordered.

As Jericho was quickly dragged away, Darren turned toward Feral. "Commander, please accept my apology for the actions of one of my clan. His behavior is a stain on our hospitality. Be assured he will be punished for what he's done." He said formally.

"I accept your apology sir." Feral said equally formal then gave the elder a small wicked smile. "However, if you decide to use him as prey, I'd be pleased to see that he receives the punishment he richly deserves but as much as that might satisfy my wish for justice, it is Freeborn I'd prefer to run to ground." He rumbled coldly.

Wenstar gave his possible son-in-law a grin that was all fang. "Well now, perhaps I might be able to arrange that with his clan leader. We'll just have to see about that. Right now though, I am very glad you both are alright and regret your ride was ruined."

Feral shrugged and was about to say something when Sheara interrupted.

"Actually, its still early, why don't we go back to our riding Ulysses." She suggested.

He looked over at her then smiled and nodded. "I'd love to. I want to see what it was you wanted to show me." Feral agreed, walking over to Jimmy then remounting while Sheara did the same on Dagger.

Smiling happily, Sheara pushed Dagger into a fast gallop and took off for the tree line with Feral following close behind.

Darren and his son, Liam, watched the pair disappear from view before turning to walk back to the house.

"I have to admit that daughter of yours has nerves of steel.....they both do. What a magnificent couple. They will breed some incredible kittens." Darren murmured admiringly.

"If they decide to marry, father." Liam reminded his father, though he hoped for the same thing most fervently.

Darren turned his head and eyed his son. "I don't care how much they fight it, no one can tell me there isn't a strong bond between them. They just have to catch up to their inner selves that's all." He said firmly then turned away and made for the living area.

His son slowed his steps allowing his father to move ahead of him. He paused to look out a window he was passing and stared out at the forest a moment. "I truly hope you're right, father." He murmured softly to himself.

Sheara was laughing as they whipped past the trees in a mad dash back the way they had come. Feral was enjoying the wild ride just as he had enjoyed his mad run down the hill minutes before in tiger form.

Ever since they had been altered he had found himself embracing his wild side more and more. When he didn't fight it, it gave him a feeling of power and freedom he'd never experienced in his life. Sometimes civilized behavior felt too confining making it much harder to try and conform. That worried him at times since he'd committed his life to being a defender of the weak and giving that up would be like giving up his very existence.

No, he had to find a happy medium between his wilder side and his civilized one. Perhaps being mated to Sheara was the answer but it was too early to say for certain. However, he couldn't deny he truly enjoyed her company.

Sheara had been angry about the high handed way Freeborn had thought to take her for his own but she was able to shove that concern aside since her grandfather intended to take care of the matter. That left her free to try and enjoy her time with Ulysses. She was glad he had been willing to go back out despite the rather rude interruption they'd endured.

She glanced toward him, briefly, as he rode beside her. Smiling to herself, she felt proud to have met this tom. He was brave, powerful, and had high moral standards. The way they had handled the attack, acted quickly and decisively without much need for communication, spoke to her of a closeness she'd never had with another before. They just seemed to 'click' together well.

She snorted mentally, it was obvious her primitive self had taken him because he was a powerful and dominant male not because he was smart and compatible, that was for her more civilized side to decide and accept.

And there lay her present quandary. She sighed, civilized behavior insisted she at least 'know' her supposed mate and not just accept the inevitable like her primitive side insisted she do. She frowned at that.......her wilder side was soo much more uncomplicated but the world she lived in wasn't.

Feral noted the frown that slipped across her features. Sighing mentally, he bet he could guess where her thoughts were at the moment but he wouldn't ask her what was on her mind just yet.

They finally reached Bender's Point where she pointed out the important landmarks that marked off the boundaries of her clan's holding.

"Fantastic view! Your family's estate is nearly as big as Megakat Bay at home." Feral said, impressed.

"Is it? Well that's nice to know." Sheara said smiling then sighed as she stared off into the distance. "Ulysses?" She asked softly.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you feel as I do, a little conflicted by our wilder selves?"

"Hmm, I'm not certain in what way you mean." He hedged.

She shook her head at little at his cautious approach. Apparently, he wasn't any better at talking about personal problems than she was.

"Let's sit and talk for a bit." She suggested, climbing down from her horse and staking him so he could forage.

Feral nodded in agreement and did the same. She wandered from the horses and took him to a high perch just under a huge tree with a thick trunk. The trees limbs made a cool canopy for resting and watching the valley below.

They sat down on the soft mossy turf below the tree. Feral sat with his back against the trunk while Sheara sat cross legged a small distance from him. She picked up a blade of grass and twirled it between her fingers idly as she stared blindly down at her home below them while she tried to gather her thoughts.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is, our primitive sides are uncomplicated. They chose a mate based on strength and dominance and their life is set. However, our more civilized selves have all these rules of behavior to deal with. It makes our situation conflicted." She explained.

Feral sighed and stared at the ground without really seeing it. "Yes, that is a perfect description of how I feel as well. I also have just come to the realization that I love to run free in my primitive form much more than I enjoy being chained to my office by responsibility. This creates more conflict within me since I've given my life to my career."

She turned her head and stared at him frowning a bit. "But my career has been taken from me and being pregnant prevents me from enjoying my wilder side so I feel......trapped. Then add the conflict of doing the 'right' thing for my kitten and reconciling the fact that I hadn't wanted a mate and you get 'mega-conflicted'." She said ruefully and just a little resentful.

Feral winced in sympathy. He might be upset by his need to be wild, his duty, and his sudden fatherhood but she had gotten the worst of it all in the end. Pregnant......primitive urges unfulfilled.......denied her career......a possible mate.... and now stuck with trying to reconcile it all in some coherent fashion. What a mess!

They were silent for a long time.

"Obviously, the first step toward solving the most immediate of our problems, is getting to know each other better." Feral said finally.

Sheara sighed again. "Well, we both agree on that but you aren't able to stay here long enough to solve that problem.......you do have your job to get back to." She pointed out.

He brought a paw up and scrubbed at his face in frustration. "Yes, I know....." He began then stopped as he remembered something he'd said sometime ago, dropping his paw then turning his head to look her in the eyes again, he asked, "I know I suggested this before, but you've had time to think about it, so let me ask it of you again. Would you be willing to reconsider coming to work for me in Megakat City?"

Sheara eyed him a moment, he'd hit upon the subject she'd been thinking about over the past few days. She'd had two reservations on accepting though. The first had been solved when her grandfather had accepted her situation and allowed her to remain a part of the family but the second concern she had needed to still be addressed. Now was apparently a good time to find out.

"I had been thinking about it actually. My first concern has been solved, however, I do have another that keeps me from accepting your wonderful offer." Sheara said slowly.

"Oh, and what is that? I'll be happy to answer any questions you have." He said, pleased she had been giving his suggestion serious consideration.

"Alright. First, aren't pregnant females restricted in some way under your command?" She asked.

"Yes, removal from combat and hazardous duty during pregnancy but not for anything else. We have many positions that need filling that could use your experience and isn't just make work. After the kitten is born, there are other opportunities you could pursue. Your background as a combat leader and strategist is a valuable commodity to us." He told her.

"Okay, that's good to know but that brings up my second concern. Working under you means officer fraternization. Is this a forbidden thing as it is in most military units?"

Feral frowned. "Unfortunately, you are correct. However, you do possess nearly the same rank as I. That would allow me to place you in charge of a combat squadron of your own. A few exceptions are allowed and one of them is when the officers are of nearly equal rank. Yes, I would still be your superior but I would ensure I would not be the one who does your performance report. I can have Ms. Briggs, the Deputy Mayor, be in charge of that then there would be no cry of impropriety made about us being intimately involved with each other." He finished, glad he was able to come up with the perfect solution because she had been right........ fraternization was a serious charge and one he wanted to avoid.

Sheara blinked in surprise. He had neatly answered all her objections so all that was left was for her to say yes.......but......she still wasn't ready to make that leap. "It sounds too good to be true, Ulysses. Would you mind if I think about it some more before giving you an answer?"

"Of course. Take all the time you need, my offer will still be there for you. I'm here for just a few days then I must return home. If you choose to join my enforcers then don't hesitate to call me directly and I'll set you up." He said warmly.

"Thank you for your patience and understanding." She said in relief, smiling back. "Well then, how about I show you the sights of my home during your stay here?"

He grinned. "I'd like that. We could even go out to dinner.....on a real date.....to someplace that's a favorite of yours."

"Great idea and I know just the place." She said warmly.


	28. Chapter 27: Enjoying Her Company

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 27:** **Enjoying Her Company**

The two sat under the tree for a couple of more hours before Sheara noted the time. "Guess we should be heading back, its nearly dinner time."

"Okay." He climbed to his feet and gave her a paw up.

She brushed off her pants and walked down toward their horses. Once mounted, they let the horses amble at their own pace toward the estate. As they got closer they could see kittens playing on the swing set, some of the older members sitting on the veranda and her father standing at the barbeque cooking. A stray breeze blew across their path with the delicious scent of roasting meat.

Rumbling with pleasure and hunger, Sheara and Ulysses guided the horses toward the stables and quickly turned them over to the stable hands before briskly walking toward the house.

As they reached the veranda and began walking through, her father called out from his position at the grill, "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes, Sheara."

"Alright, father!" She called over her shoulder as they walked past and stepping into the house to wash up.

Walking down the hall they were greeted warmly by people hustling back and forth as they carried food and dishes out to the veranda.

Grinning to each other like little kittens, Feral and Sheara hurried up that stairs to her room, where he collected his bag and went to the room they'd learned was his from a passing maid. They both quickly took showers and redressed.

He was waiting for her at the top of the stairs and gave her pretty yellow sundress with a sprinkling of white flowers all over it an admiring look and a smile.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you, and may I say, you certainly cut a handsome figure yourself." She purred, admiring his dark brown slacks and gold short sleeved shirt with tie that suited him well.

Thank you. May I escort you to dinner." He rumbled warmly.

She grinned at him and place her arm in his. They walked down the stairs and through the house to the outside veranda where many of the family was already sitting and talking.

There were cries of pleasure upon seeing them and her mother indicated a pair of seats near her for them. They had been placed near the head of the table, of course.

Her father came sweeping in with a steaming tray of meat followed by other members of the household carrying various dishes of food. Soon they were digging in, the room filling with happy chatter.

As dinner wound down, Darren Wenstar called to the dark tom. "Commander..."

Feral turned his head and inclined it politely, "Yes sir?"

"I wished to inform you of my discussions with the Firecrest Clan Leader on the disposition of Freeland." Darren began. "He was equally appalled and furious to learn of his clansman's behavior. He left it in my paws to determine Freeland's punishment." He gave Feral a toothy grin.

Feral's return grin was just wolfish. "Soo, does this mean I get to play chase on your fine estate?" He asked, anticipation lacing his voice.

"Oh yes. Terrence Firecrest was choking with laughter when I suggested it. Said it was the perfect punishment and that he would love to watch if you would permit it." Darren said in dark humor.

"I have no objection though watching me would be really difficult. I don't show myself unless I desire it." Feral rumbled, eyes glinting with mischief.

"Ohhh, we have the perfect observation spot to watch the action!" Sheara interrupted excitedly. "Bender's Point!"

"Great idea, granddaughter. I suggest we set it up for a couple of hours before dusk tomorrow. How does that suit you Ulysses?" Darren asked Feral politely.

"Perfect!"

The rest of the evening was spent watching evening fall and many of the Wenstar Clan chatting up their possible newest member.

At bedtime, Ulysses escorted Sheara to her room.

"I had a wonderful day. What have you planned for tomorrow?" He asked softly.

"Hmm, well I thought we might go into the city and see the sights before the evenings entertainment." She suggested warmly, brushing a paw up and down his massive chest.

"Sounds fun. See you in the morning then." He murmured a husky good night, leaning forward to nuzzle her face lightly before moving back to walk down to his room.

She sighed and turned into her room. Tomorrow was going to be a really good day.

Rising early as was usual for him, Feral showered, dressed in jeans and light shirt for his anticipated visit to the city and made his way downstairs.

He wasn't surprised to see a great many of the house occupants already sitting down at breakfast. For an estate this size, he knew their were many tasks that needed getting down just after sunrise.

"Good morning, Commander. Sit down and have some breakfast." Liam Wenstar said warmly from his end of the table. He was nearly finished with his meal.

"Thank you." Feral said politely, sitting down and serving himself up a hearty meal. At home he normally made do with coffee and a donut so getting a nice hot meal was a treat he was willing to indulge in.

"Do you and Sheara have plans for the day." Liam asked.

"She said she'd like to give me a tour of the city." Feral told him.

"Oh, that's a great idea." Liam said grinning. "By the way, everyone is excited about this evening's event. Should be fun, though I'm certain Jericho and that fool Freeborn wont think so." He snickered.

Feral gave him a wolfish grin as he finished a bite of his food before answering. "I think you'd be right."

"Good morning all!" Sheara sang out as she entered the room then halted by her father's side to give him a warm kiss on the cheek before sitting down across from Feral.

"Good morning, daughter. I heard about your plans for the day. Great idea." Liam said warmly as he started to climb to his feet. "You two have a good time and we'll see you this evening." He said by way of farewell.

"Thanks, Father. We'll see you later." Sheara said as she began filling her plate with food.

Giving them both a pleased nod, Liam turned and left the room.

"Your family serves a fantastic breakfast." Feral said, finishing his food and pushing his plate away.

"Yes and I'm hard pressed to keep my weight down when I'm home. I never have time for more than coffee and bagel for breakfast." Sheara grinned.

Feral chuckled, "So do I. Perhaps I should be sure to get some exercise while I'm here. Though I'm sure today's trip to town and tonight's event will certainly be enough to shed what I eat today."

"Oh for certain!" Sheara said then sighed. "How I wish I could go for a run like that too."

Feral's features displayed commiseration for her restriction. "I wish you could to."

"Oh well, it will be soon enough that I'll be able to again." She said more upbeat.

Some twenty minutes later, they were driving into town. She had taken a non-descript jeep from her family's garage of cars and was soon parking it at edge of a large plaza where many people had their wares set up under colorful tents. It was already crowded despite the early hour.

They spent several hours cruising the many stalls, picking up small treasures pausing at lunch time to allow Feral to try the local cuisine before going back her car to drive to some of the local museums and parks.

Sun was a couple of hours from setting when they finally headed home.

"I had a wonderful time. Your city is breathtaking and I'll miss it when I leave." Feral said, relaxing in his seat as Sheara drove them back to the estate.

She turned her head briefly to give him a wide grin of pleasure. "I'm glad you feel that way. Perhaps you'll be inclined to return." She said.

"Perhaps." He said, noncommitally.

They drove on in companionable silence. As she reached the estate and drove up the long drive they were greeted by the sight of many of the clan waiting for them.

"Looks like everyone has turned up including the Firecrest Clan." Sheara commented as she parked the car near the front doors.

Feral climbed out and felt a bit overwhelmed when dozens of young teenaged Kats came close and tried to talk to him at the same time. He raised an eyebrow at all the commotion and waited for Sheara to rescue him.

"Alright, enough! Give Commander Feral some room. I take it grandfather is waiting for us?" She asked of one of her relatives.

"Yeah! We're all waiting to go up to the point to watch the fun." The youngster said, grinning madly and unable to stand still.

Sheara just shook her head and took Ulysses' arm in hers, walking him through the house to the back veranda where her grandfather, father, mother, and other older relatives waited along with some strangers that stared at Feral in barely restrained excitement.

'Wow! Is this going to be a circus.' He thought in amazement.


	29. Chapter 28: The Punishment Hunt

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 28:** **The Punishment Hunt**

"Ulysses!" Darren Wenstar called out, tugging a Kat as old as himself closer. "I want you to meet Terrence Firecrest."

"Pleased to meet you sir. Sorry about the trouble your clansman caused you." Feral said politely.

Firecrest growled as he shook the paw of this distinguished visitor his idiot clansman had nearly done in. "I am just grateful the fool did not succeed. My clan would have had to bear the humiliation and scorn of our peers if you had come to harm. I wish to thank you for your understanding and your part in providing his punishment tonight." He grinned in expectation.

Feral grinned back. "My pleasure. I must ask, though, do you wish him to simply be terrified or suffer an injury or two?"

An evil smile flit across the other tom's face. "I want him to suffer for his stupidity. Terrify him, definitely, then wound him enough that he will never forget the lesson but please don't maim. Unfortunately, the idiot is still useful to me."

"I understand perfectly." Feral nodded then turned to Darren. "And does that go for Jericho as well, sir?"

Darren sighed. "Actually, no. Just terrify him more than you did today and perhaps give a swipe with your claws but don't wound."

"As you wish." Feral agreed easily. "When do you want to start this?"

"Well, everyone needs to get up to the point so give us about an hour to do that then I'll call you on your cell and I'll let you know when to begin the hunt. The two miscreants are being taken up there as we speak....." Darren pointed to an area just below the point and to the side where the lake lay. ".....and they will be released as soon as we're all in place. No one else will be in your hunting area so as to prevent any accidents."

"Excellent, then, if you'll excuse me, I'll go up and change into more rugged attire that's easier to shuck and put back on." Feral said, turning to leave.

Before he could slip into the house, Sheara caught his arm and made him pause a moment, giving him a quick kiss before murmuring, "Good hunting, Ulysses. See you later."

He grinned at her then disappeared inside. Sheara quickly joined her family in the many SUVs that were waiting. They loaded aboard them quickly and drove up the mountain side toward Bender's Point.

Some ten minutes later, Feral was waiting in the gathering dusk for his signal to begin. Less than five minutes later his cell rang.

"Feral!"

"We're all settled here and the prisoners have been released. They were told to run but only one has.....Freeland is attempting to walk back to the estate. Happy hunting, Commander." Darren told him.

"Thank you, sir. See you all later." Feral responded then hung up. He tucked his cell in his pocket then trotted in his normal form to the forest's edge. There he paused to strip his clothes off and altered to his warform so that he could reach up into the trees to hang his clothes in a safe place then he took his primitive form.

He sniffed the air and caught the scent of many Kats.......the ones on the point. He huffed a moment in annoyance and decided to just head in the direction he'd been given so that he could get a better track on the prisoner's location.

Once he'd reached the high grass below the point, he again paused to sniff the air. This time he caught the odor of sweat and fear. His mouth grimaced wide open in that way tigers had to gather a scent deeper in their mouths until he got enough information to tell him who was the closest. Closing his mouth with a snap, he began to stalk his prey.

_An hour earlier.................._

"Let's go you two." A big, beefy tom growled as he shoved two smaller kats before him up a hill.

"I still don't understand why you're forcing us to go all the way out here." Freeland growled back while trudging forward reluctantly.

"Your clan leader already told you. You're to be punished." The big tom grunted.

"But why out here?" Freeland demanded, halting in his tracks to stare angrily at his guard.

The guard scowled at him. "I am not at liberty to say. I only know I am to take you to a spot below Bender's Point and release you."

"See, that makes no sense. Why bring us here only to let us go?" Freeland snapped.

"They're letting that tiger take care of us!" Jericho, who had been silent all this time, blurted out in fear. "I just know it."

Freeland blinked at him then snarled in disgust. "I didn't believe that shit the first time you spouted it and I don't believe it now so shut up you sniveling coward."

Jericho lunged at Freeland, practically spitting in fury. "I don't lie and I am not a coward. Feral **can** turn into a huge tiger. Our clan leader would think this was the perfect punishment.......allowing the wronged party a chance to get revenge." He hissed.

The guard restrained Jericho before the infuriated tom could attack Freeland.

"Knock it off you two. You'll have plenty of time to learn what's going to happen when you get there so move!" He snapped shoving Jericho forward and making it clear Freeland better do the same.

Grumbling under his breath, Freeland began walking again. Jericho sent him dagger-like glances every now and then as they trudged through the tall grass.

After another twenty minutes, the guard finally told them to halt then he stood waiting. Freeland frowned at him in confusion as he looked around him. All he was able to see was the cursed tall grass, the forest some distance away that they had passed through, and a high hill behind him. But before he could ask what was going on, the guard's cell phone chirped. After a brief exchange, the guard shut his cell and looked at them.

"Take off! Doesn't matter what direction or whether you walk or run but take off now." He ordered.

Freeland just stared at him in angry confusion but Jericho wasted no time in taking off like a rabbit, due North.

The guard gave Freeland a baleful look then turned and headed away from him. Within moments, he was lost to sight, leaving the other tom to stand alone.

Feeling uneasy, Freeland decided walking back the way they had come made the most sense and set off at a brisk pace. His mind worked on how he would get back at his clan leader for this humiliation. He had a right to pursue the female of his choice. Sheara had disgraced herself and could expect no sympathy from any male who desired her as a mate. After all, he was taking damaged goods. Her grandfather should be grateful rather than wait and hope that fool of a foreigner would accept his responsibility like he should.

Wrapped up in his angry thoughts, the sudden scream that came from the North of him made him nearly jump out of his fur. He froze, whirled around to stare frantically behind him. The scream became a long ululation of terror that got louder and louder as it headed his way.

Looking around quickly, he tried to see what was heading his way and soon spotted movement in the grass just before Jericho came barreling into view.

"Oh God! Oh God!" Jericho sobbed, his eyes huge with fear as he plunged headlong toward Freeland forcing the Kat to hurriedly step out of the way.

He frowned in confusion as the panicking tom never halted and continued running until he was out of view. Freeland quickly turned back around to stare urgently along the fleeing tom's back trail but could see nothing. 'What the hell?'

He continued to stand there while the sound of Jericho's screams faded away to be replaced by an eerie silence. Freeland strained to hear any sound. It took him a long moment to realize that the absolute silence was wrong........no birds chirped.....nor squirrels chattered...no anything.

He tried sniffing the air but could detect nothing out of the ordinary. What had silenced the local fauna? Freeland began to get a little worried but before he could decide what action he should take next a terror-faced and wildly panting Jericho came running back toward him again.

Still not seeing anything, Freeland reached out and grabbed the running Kat and brought him to the ground in a messy, struggling heap.

"Shut up you fool! You disgrace your clan with your screaming. What the devil are you running from. I see nothing around here." He demanded.

Jericho fought against the other tom wildly. "He's coming! He jumped me then let me go so he could chase me like a rabbit. Let me go! He's right behind me!"

"There's nothing there, you fool! Look for yourself!" Freeland snapped, releasing the Kat.

Jericho staggered to his feet. "You're the fool! You can't see him unless he wants you to!" He snarled then took off again, vanishing in the high grass once more.

"Idiot!" Freeland muttered in frustration. Tired of the whole business, he decided to continue on the path he had chosen.

From the high grass, Feral's gold eyes watched the two toms with amused interest. He had fun chasing Jericho all over the place but now it was Freeland's turn. He would find Jericho again later. Smoothly getting to his feet, he began to stalk the arrogant Kat.

Though he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched, Freeland ignored the sensation and felt he would make it out of here safely when he began to see the forest just ahead. With a satisfied sigh of relief, he picked up his pace anxious to return home. However, he hadn't gotten more than another few feet when there was a violent movement to his left and suddenly a huge creature lunged from the tall grass to land heavily in front of him. Freeland froze in stunned shock at the sight of a huge dark brown tiger eyeing him hungrily.

They stared at each other for what seemed like minutes but were only seconds before the tiger opened his mouth and gave a tremendous roar that sent a flock of birds fleeing in terror from a nearby hedge. That broke Freeland's frozen stance and sent him fleeing back the way he'd come in mindless terror.

He didn't scream like Jericho had but he was just as frightened. The only sound he could hear was his wildly pounding heart, rapid breathing and the barely perceptible sound of the tiger moving swiftly toward him, as he ran as fast as he could.

What he didn't know was Feral was taking his time. He could easily catch up to the running Kat but that would end the chase all too soon and this was far too much fun.

Freeland thought he was being clever by zigzagging through the grass but Feral had no problem keeping his prey in sight or smell. He rumbled his amusement and decided to close the gap.

The Kat shrieked as big paws snatched at his clothes and a heavy body dropped him to the ground with stunning force. He lost all sense and air in his lungs as he struggled desperately to get out from under that massive weight.

Feral lowered his head and licked the tom's neck and hair. Freeland froze at the touch of that huge tongue and hot breath. Whimpers escaped his throat and shudders rippled through his body.

Enjoying the scent of fear reaching his nose from his prey, Feral leisurely continued to lick and nuzzle the Kat then tore the tom's shirt with his fangs. After tormenting the Kat for several more minutes, he huffed a blast of air causing Freeland to emit another squeal of terror before heaving his body off the trapped tom.

Freeland was frozen with terror and couldn't move despite being free. Shuddering uncontrollably, he rolled his eyes up to stare in horrified fascination at the huge face staring down at him. Those fangs that peeked out of the tiger's mouth were formidable and he had no doubt they could rip his body in two without much effort.

With another huff of air, the tiger suddenly leaped away and vanished into the tall grass once more. Freeland couldn't move. He continued to lay there shivering. When nothing happened for many long minutes, only then did he slowly rise to a sitting position.

He strained to hear any sound that would tell him where the tiger was but all he heard was that same eerie silence that told of a predator in the area. Now he understood what Jericho had meant. Their punishment was to be tormented and terrified by this tiger. He didn't think death was part of it but being stalked and pounced on was enough to make him almost wish he could die to end this nightmare.

He looked around, uncertain as to what he should do now. It was obvious that no matter what direction he took the tiger would hunt him down easily. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, perhaps, he should just sit down and wait. It would be no fun for the tiger if he didn't run.

Freeland allowed a grim smile to grace his lips as he looked around for a comfortable spot to sit and wait until this 'game' was over. Trying to gather his dignity and hold together the shreds of his shirt, he staggered to his feet then walked a little ways until he found what he was looking for......a large flat rock jutting up from the grass.

With a sigh of relief, he walked up to it and scrambled on top, settling down to wait for the hunt to be over. No way was he going to play the tiger's game. He was much smarter than that.

Elsewhere, Jericho was still running. He'd come up with the vague idea that perhaps tiger's didn't like water so he was trying to make for the lake, hoping he could escape the big cat that way. He was hugely relieved that he managed to reach the water's edge with no sign of the pursuing tiger. Not hesitating another moment, he leaped into the lake and began to swim toward a dock a few miles to the left of his point of entry.

Meanwhile, Feral had decided to let Freeland stew a bit and headed off to find Jericho. He quickly picked up the frightened tom's scent and loped easily after it. He reached the lake's edge and spotted Jericho about halfway to his apparent goal......a wooden dock some yards away.

'Oh, you're not getting away from me that easily.' Snickering to himself, Feral slid into the water and began paddling smoothly toward the frantically swimming Kat.

Jericho was exhausted but thrilled when he saw how close to the dock he was after some fifteen minutes of swimming. He pushed himself harder, anxious to get out of the water when suddenly he felt a warm body brush up against him from under the water.

He screamed and flailed around when the tiger's body rose to the surface with him on it's back. Feral huffed the water from his face as he continued to paddle toward the dock with the now desperately clinging tom sprawled precariously over him.

When he reached the dock, Feral easily heaved his huge bulk onto the dock wincing a little at the feel of claws digging into his ribs. He dipped a shoulder suddenly, causing his passenger to tumble to the wooden planks of the dock then shook his body hard to rid it of excess water.

Jericho had to cover his face to keep from getting even more water on him then froze when the tiger moved to stand over him. The tiger's face dropped down until Jericho could see every dangerous tooth in that huge mouth that hung open as Feral sniffed him.

The tom dared not move as he waited to see what the tiger would do next. That's when Feral altered his body to his warform. The huge towering shape against the sunset sky was the final straw for Jericho and he fainted dead away.

Feral snorted at the sight of the unconscious tom. Shrugging, he reached down and picked up Jericho and carried him to the estate, leaving him to wake on his own on a chaise lounge on the veranda. His punishment was over.

Returning outside, Feral stretched then returned to his tiger form and loped off to find Freeland again. It didn't take him long to find the tom sitting on a flat rock only a few feet from where he'd left him an hour earlier.

He grudgingly admired the Kat's courage and smarts. Freeland had obviously determined running was a waste of time since Feral would continue to run him down no matter what direction he took.

So.....since the tom refused to play chase any longer, Feral would have to do something else. He laid down and rested while he thought about it.

High above where he lay resting, the two clans that were watching were whispering among themselves.

"Wow, did you see how fast the Commander moves? Neither of those fools stood a chance." One voice noted to its companions nearby.

"That was totally hilarious how he took Jericho at the lake." Another said, struggling to keep their laughter quiet. Others nearby doing the same.

A very young voice spoke up excitedly, "Did you see that huge other form of his? That was awesome and scary." His friends made sounds of agreement. "I wouldn't want run into that at night."

Darren Winstar and Terrance Firecrest watched the hunt with keen interest. Winstar was fascinated by the way a tiger hunted while Firecrest was awed by the sheer power displayed by the big cat. Privately he felt Winstar was truly lucky to be getting such a tom in his clan while Winstar, himself, prayed more than ever that Feral would become a member of his clan....what a coup that would be.

"Wonder what he has planned for that fool, Freeland." Sheara whispered to her father and mother standing beside her.

"No telling but I should think it will be appropriate." Her father answered, not able to take his eyes off the tableau going on below them.

Rested, Feral had come up with a wicked idea. Rising silently to his feet, he slipped away into the tall grasses.

About fifteen minutes later, Freeland shuddered at the sound of something squealing in terror then sudden silence. It had sounded like a rabbit and something had killed it. He stared warily out over the moving waves of tall grass....waiting.

Some thirty minutes later, something wet dropped onto his head. Blinking in surprise, he tilted his head up to study the sky but though it was getting dark there was no sign of rain clouds. Frowning, he reached up and touched the wetness. He brought his fingers to his face and paled. It was blood!

Swallowing hard, he tilted his head even further up and searched the branches of a huge tree some feet behind him with a few of its thick branches hanging over him. He finally spotted a dark shape hidden among the leaves that lifted its head to stare down at him, gold eyes gleaming. Whatever it was, it was no longer a tiger and he wasn't certain if it was Feral.

It held something in its mouth that dripped blood down on him. Horrified, he remained frozen as he watched the creature eat its meal then drop the carcass onto the rock with a splat. That action had Freeland scrambling off the rock and standing a few feet away still keeping his eyes on the creature.

The thing climbed down from its perch and began to walk toward him. In the gathering gloom, Freeland could just make out some kind of giant Kat-like figure. It stood over seven feet tall, had a muzzle like a tiger in a way, a dark pelt and very impressive genitals hanging between its powerful legs. Its paws had long lethal claws and its mouth, when it yawned, had long fangs.

"What are you?" He asked, breathlessly, stepping backward as it approached without being aware of it, unable to look away.

"Your worst nightmare!" It said in a deep, hoarse voice.

Freeland's mouth dropped open. 'OMG! It can speak!' He thought in horror. Swallowing hard he stopped backing up and stood his ground.

"Okay, whoever you are, I refuse to run and I know you aren't allowed to kill me so now what?" He demanded, working hard to not appear terrified.

Feral grunted, cocking his head to study this tom. "I want you to stop pursuing Sheara. It is her choice who she wishes to take as her mate and no one will take that choice from her." He growled.

Freeland jerked in surprise. This was Feral despite his altered form. "That is not our way. If you do not wish to take responsibility for her despoiling then I will." He said angrily.

Eyes narrowing, Feral lunged forward until he towered over the bristling Kat. "Do not speak of her as some soiled dove. What happened to us was no ones fault. You are a fool if you think I will allow you to treat her as such." He snarled, showing his fangs.

Shivering but not backing down, Freeland snorted in annoyance. "I heard all about how things happened after she had been kidnapped but she was still allowed to return home unattached and pregnant. We do not accept any reason for despoiling and then leaving a female pregnant and alone....it just isn't allowed. It doesn't matter what you think, we take care of our females." He said hotly.

Feral paused, his anger cooling in the face of this male's obvious sincerity about his culture's rules. The fact the female's wishes were not considered, didn't enter into this male dominated society's mindset and who was he to say they were wrong. It had worked for them for centuries.

Sighing mentally, he decided to change his stance. Threats obviously would not work.

"I am forced to acknowledge that this is your culture's ingrained belief and I have no right to denigrate it. However, I wish you to understand something in regards to Sheara. She and I were given no choice when we mated. We were never allowed to speak or congregate so we could not talk about what had happened and see what we could do about it. Afterwards, when we were free there was simply too much work to be done to clean up that madkat's mess to deal with our personal problems. Only now do we have the time to discuss it. Unlike you, I'm not able to ignore a she-kat's wishes but understanding the culture rules she must obey, I have come here to see what I can do to correct the situation." He said in his gravely voice.

Freeland blinked in shocked surprise. Feral's willingness to accept their culture was just as important to him as his own was to the dark tom and that he had no intention of putting him down for those beliefs was nothing short of amazing. His explanation of his own beliefs and his desire to see the right thing was done caused Freeland to rethink how he felt about this tom. This put Sheara's situation in a different light. Perhaps he had been too hasty after all and been too harsh in his judgement of the she-kat.

"I must say, I'm somewhat pleased and surprised that you're willing to make things right and aren't just running roughshod over our beliefs. I misjudged you. I guess I would have had some problem being with a female I knew nothing about and was suddenly required to marry. Our culture does not practice arranged marriages except in this instance because of how important our young are to us." Freeland admitted reluctantly.

"So I was told." Feral said quietly. "Because of that, Sheara and I are attempting to build a relationship."

"I see."

"However, that does not excuse what you attempted to do." Feral commented coldly.

Freeland's body tightened with tension. "I did act hastily in this instance and I apologize. I truly felt your were ignoring our way of life and was going to leave Sheara unprotected. I did not know you except as some foreigner who didn't understand why this was so important to us. I felt getting you out of the way would spare Sheara anymore trauma."

Feral snorted derisively at that twisted bit of logic. "Violence is not the answer. You should have checked things out more thoroughly before acting so recklessly." He scolded.

"Isn't that calling the kettle black? Weren't you exacting revenge for what I did?" Freeland asked huffily.

"Not exactly. Within the bounds of your own culture's rules, I was asked to punish you but not to do you any lasting harm and I have done so." Feral said smoothly.

Freeland's face burned with embarrassment as he realized the Commander was right. Feral had honored their rules and he had no right to complain. He was the one, after all, who had done something wrong.

"Fine, I agree what you did was within your right. Can I go home now?" He grumbled irritably.

"That would be up to your clan leader who has been watching you from the cliff up there." Feral grunted in amusement.

"Oh wonderful! I must have provided an amusing bit of entertainment for them." Freeland snarled bitterly.

"Most likely. Shall we walk down to the estate now?"

Nodding Freeland followed the tall warform of Feral as they walked in the twilight toward the bright lights of the estate.


	30. Chapter 29: Getting Closer

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 29: Getting Closer**

Now that the hunt was over the watchers headed for the SUV's for the trip back.

"That was surprising at the end there. I thought Feral would get Freeland to run but instead they just talked. Wonder what they were talking about?" A cousin of Sheara's asked the adults around him as they drove back to the estate.

"Don't know so we'll have to wait and ask when we get back." Liam responded distractedly. He wondered the same thing. It seem rather anticlimactic when Ulysses walked peacefully with Freeland down the hill.

It took about twenty minutes to reach their home and unload. While they had been gone, Darren had his servants set out a large dinner for them all. The delicious scent of food reached their noses as they walked across the yard to the veranda and into the house.

Before the groups arrived, Feral and Freeland paused at the edge of the forest while Feral got his clothes, altered back to his normal shape and redressed.

Freeland was impressed by the ease with which Feral could alter his form. As they continued on to the estate, he eyed the tom that strode beside him.

"I must admit, I didn't believe all the tales about altered Kats. I stand corrected and must say I'm impressed. Sheara is also capable of this?" He asked.

"Yes but because of her pregnancy, she cannot risk changing shape." Feral responded politely.

"Is she a tiger like you?"

"Yes, except she's a lovely shade of silver and black."

"Interesting."

They reached the estate and were told by the servants that dinner would be served when the rest arrived. They were escorted to the drawing room and given cups of coffee while they waited. Feral and Freeland talked quietly about each other's culture and how they differed from each other.

Soon they heard the noise of many voices as the clans returned. Feral and Freeland left the drawing room for the dining room where the others were gathering and talking excitedly about the night's events. Jericho was there, though very subdued and unwilling to look anyone in the face.

Freeland was told to sit next to his clan leader while Feral took a seat next to Sheara. Everyone was quickly seated and food was served. Feral was very hungry despite having eaten a rabbit earlier. Sheara was aware of this and ensured he got as many servings of meat as he wanted.

Only pleasant chatter filled the dinner time gathering, everyone tacitly knowing discussion of the night's events would be held later in the study. However, that didn't stop the younger ones from chattering excitedly about the hunt and staring at Feral in admiration.

Once dinner was over, the kittens and older youngsters were hustled off to bed and the rest were told to be off to attend to their own duties before retiring for bed themselves. Only the Patriarchs of both clans, Feral and Sheara, her parents along with four high ranking clan members were invited into the den to put a finishing touch to the evenings events. Jericho was told to go to bed and Freeland was instructed to go out on the veranda and wait until his leader was ready to leave.

When everyone was settled and it was quiet, Darren spoke first, "Commander, I wish to thank you for handling the punishment in such an excellent manner. I do believe Jericho has learned his lesson."

"I too wish to add my thanks for the handling of my clansman, Commander. Though I must admit the end was a bit of a surprise. Is it permitted to know what you and Freeland spoke of?" Terrence Firecrest asked.

"Certainly. It appears we were mis-informed on Freeland's intentions. He did intend to do away with me, that much was true, but his reason was because he thought I, being a foreigner and unfamiliar with your ways, would abandon Sheara and he felt that was wrong and besmirched her and her family's name so he set out to correct what he saw as a great injustice to her. I, of course, set him straight and explained what was really going on. He was surprisingly accepting of that explanation and apologized for his behavior." Feral explained easily.

Firecrest blinked at that seemingly simple explanation. "Hmm, I'm not so certain he was being completely truthful but since he admits he was wrong and will leave you alone, I guess that closes this matter."

"It does for me." Feral said urbanely.

"Good, then I'm glad we are ending this incident on such a good note. I am very pleased to have had the chance to meet you Commander and I should be on my way home, it is getting very late." Terrence said rising from his seat.

Everyone else followed suit and watched as their patriarch escorted the other out. Feral and Sheara used the moment to escape to their rooms.

"What a day and night this has been." Sheara said with a sigh as they walked up the stairs.

"I'll say and a most pleasant one at that. What have you planned for tomorrow?" Feral asked as they reached her door.

"Hmmm, I don't know yet but I'll think of something in the morning. It is your last day here and I would like it to be special." Sheara said warmly.

"I look forward to it. Have a good night." Feral said, leaning close and giving her a light kiss.

"You too." She sighed when they parted. She gave him a soft smile then slipped into her room.

Feeling warm and happy, Feral walked down to his door and stepped into his room.

The next morning shone bright and warm. Sheara stepped from her room wearing jeans, a long sleeved shirt and hiking boots. She went down the hall and knocked on Ulysses' door.

She could hear him moving around then the door opened. He was wearing a bathrobe as he peered out.

"Good morning, Ulysses. I wanted to tell you to dress like me for a day of hiking." She said brightly.

"Oh, alright. Give me ten minutes and I'll see you downstairs." Feral said warmly.

"Good enough!" She said turning and going downstairs.

Feral quickly went to his suitcase and pulled out his own pair of jeans and a polo shirt. He pulled on his tennis shoes and quickly left his room and hurried down the stairs.

Reaching the dining room, he found Sheara sitting down and eating breakfast. Beside her was a picnic basket. Smiling at her, he took a seat beside her and tucked into a hearty breakfast.

"So where are we going?" He asked as he reached for his milk.

"You'll see. I don't want you to have any preconceived ideas." She smirked.

He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't respond. They finished in companionable silence and were soon heading for the stables.

Feral got Jimmy again as Sheara mounted Dagger. She led them off at a firm trot away from Bender's Point and headed toward the main entrance of the estate. Puzzled, Feral kept pace with her as they headed down the road toward the city.

They hadn't gone more than five miles when Sheara turned from the road and headed for a barely seen path through a thick forest. They rode for some time. Feral looked around, spotting a great many prey through the underbrush. The path was only wide enough for them to go single file so they didn't speak. The world around them was filled with the sounds of many creatures calling to each other and birds flying through the branches.

An hour's ride brought them to a sudden opening in the forest wall. The sun beat down on them after the long ride through the coolness of the trees. Before them lay a huge valley with a lake. To their left was a rose a huge mountain range, it was in this direction Sheara took them. Riding some thirty minutes more, Sheara turned her horse into a narrow opening in the mountain side they had been riding parallel to. He followed her and stared at the steep walls on both sides of him. Water dripped down their sides and he could smell more ahead of them.

When they came to the end of the narrow corridor of rock, he was stunned by the sight of a mini-jungle wedged in a tiny clearing with a small waterfall at one end of a small pool. Mist filled the air as the horses paced slowly forward over a grassy verge.

Sheara stopped and dismounted. Feral looked around then did the same. She showed him where she usually tied them up then she removed the picnic basket from behind her saddle and walked toward the falls.

She made for a small sheltered area covered by the broad leaves of some kind of huge plant. It afforded them some cover from the constant spray of water. The sun still beat down from directly overhead, warming the area pleasantly though he was certain once it was gone it could get rather cold here.

Sheara put the basket down, pulled out a blanket and laid it down. "Well, what do you think?" She asked as she settled onto the blanket and began to pull her shoes off.

"It's breathtaking and so private." He said sitting down beside her.

"It's my most favorite place to get away from everyone. No one knows of this place but myself and my great grandfather. He'd shown it to me when I was very young......said he saw great things for me but that I needed a quiet place so he brought me here. He died a few years ago, so I'm the only one who knows and now so do you." She said.

"Well I'm impressed. It's like a mini paradise." He said admiringly.

"I'm glad. Since this is our last day together for a while I wanted it to be extra special and perhaps allow us to be closer and see if the ties I feel toward you are as strong as we think without all the civilized problems rearing their head. I want us to just feel and let the rest take care of itself in its own good time." She said seriously.

He stared at her a long moment then reached a paw up and cupped her face. "I think that's an excellent idea and to help that along........" He murmured as he leaned close and gave her a long kiss.

She sighed and surrendered to it. The kiss held for a long breathless moment before they slowly parted. She smiled at him impishly, "How about a swim after that long ride!" She said, her heart pounding a little faster.

"I didn't bring a suit..." He said in surprise.

"Neither did I." She smirked, suddenly standing and stripping off all her clothes. Her pregnant belly leading the way as she made for the water and jumped in.

Feral blinked in stunned surprise. The sight of her, even pregnant, had stolen his breath away then he shook himself and stripped his clothes off as well following her into the surprisingly warm water.

He realized there must be a hot spring beneath the pool and that explained the heavy mist overlaying everything. He looked around for her as he tread water and was taken by surprise when he felt paws running up his body then she popped up in front of him, grinning wickedly.

The next few hours were the most wonderful moments of his life. They made love in the water several times before climbing out and doing it again on the blanket.

They ate lunch in the buff then took a nap under the warm sun with him spooning her from behind, his arms wrapped gently around the kitten in her belly. They woke when the sun finally disappeared over the mountain and began casting long shadows into their little oasis.

Feral was loathed to leave but knew they needed to get back before dark. They dressed quickly then mounted their horses and rode back to the estate.

No one asked where they'd been but many could see the new closeness the two shared as they walked through the house to change for dinner.

Liam cast a knowing look toward his wife and she gave him a smile and a thumbs up. He nearly laughed at that but he was sure she was right to feel triumphant. It might take a while but he was fairly certain a wedding would be occurring before too long.


	31. Chapter 30: A Violent Welcome Home

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 30: A Violent Welcome Home**

Sleep was hard to come by that night after the wonderful interlude he'd spent with Sheara at her secret mountain hideaway.

He was laying on his back on the comfortable bed, his paws behind his head, his eyes staring out at the starry night sky. It had been an idyllic end to a perfect day. He hated that he must leave in the morning but he'd been away from work long enough and though Steele had proven to be an excellent second, he knew his presence during this time of recovery and rebuilding was important.

Sighing again, he rolled to his side and tried to get some sleep before morning arrived to roust him.

The sounds of a waking household woke Feral from the sleep he'd finally managed to succumb to around dawn. Yawning, he threw the covers off and headed for the shower. In less than thirty minutes, he was dressed and packed for his departure.

He carried his suitcase downstairs and left it near the front entryway then headed for the dining room. Sheara was there already, putting food on her plate. At his entry, she gave him a warm, secret smile which he returned with one of his own. He took the seat beside her and loaded a plate for himself.

The rest of the family filtered in by ones, twos, and threes until the room was abuzz with the sound of many voices talking all at once. Many an interested look were cast Feral and Sheara's way but no one interrupted the pair's private conversation.

The Wenstar Patriarch arrived to sit at the head of the table. A blitz of greetings were sent his way which he acknowledged with a nod of his head as he filled a plate. He too noted the closeness of the pair and hid a smile of triumph as he began to eat his breakfast.

When everyone was nearly done, Darren decided it was time to speak to the still involved pair. He cleared his throat and said casually, "So, Ulysses you're returning home today?"

Feral turned to Sheara's grandfather and gave a polite nod. "Yes sir. I wish I could stay longer. I've enjoyed your hospitality very much, but there is a great deal of work is waiting for me from peace restoration, so I must get back," he said regretfully.

"Of course, Ulysses. Your part in the restoration is vital and we're extremely pleased to hear that your suggestions are beginning to show results. I've been keeping abreast of the world's progress reports and I must say they are encouraging. Obviously, it will be years before we are at our pre-war state but the work being done is making great progress toward that faster than all of us hoped," Darren said, a look of pleased relief on his face.

"I'm very glad to hear that, sir. I've been kinda keeping a low profile so haven't been listening to what's been going on so I'm grateful to know things are beginning to improve worldwide," Feral said, the tension within him easing a little.

He'd been concerned he would be faced with only a slight improvement in the mess and would be digging himself from under it on his return but Wenstar's take on the situation sounded as if things had gotten further along than he'd dared hope. He'd know for certain when he'd been briefed by Steele on his return.

"You are very welcome, Ulysses. We will miss you and hope you will be able to visit again very soon," Wenstar said warmly.

"It's truly a wonderful thing you've done, Uly. I'm relieved that things are looking up finally," Sheara said sighing in relief. She leaned close and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I will miss you," she murmured, her eyes glimmering with bittersweet sadness that he had to leave.

"So will I," he said softly, nuzzling her. He looked back at Darren and caught the glint of pleasure at seeing them together. He blushed but collected himself to say, "I will try to return sometime soon, sir. Thank you for the breakfast and the ride to the airport. I wish your family good fortune and health," Feral said politely as he rose from the table preparing to leave. Sheara rose with him, taking his paw in hers as they left the room.

"You're welcome, Ulysses," Wenstar said as he too rose to follow the tom. The rest of the family followed at a discreet distance.

Feral's suitcase had already been taken out to the car so he stepped through the already open front door. Outside a crowd waited to see him off. He felt a little overwhelmed by their response but his main focus was on saying farewell to Sheara.

She smiled sadly up into his face. "Call me when you arrive home," she murmured softly, leaning closer to him.

"I will," he promised. "Please consider my offer, Sheara. I would love to have you there," he urged quietly then leaned down and kissed her gently.

It should have been a small kiss farewell but it quickly morphed into a passionate leave taking with many eyes watching in hopeful silence. When they finally parted, both were panting with cheeks a bit flushed.

Feral couldn't resist a last nuzzle before finally pulling away. Sheara's eyes were shining with mixed emotions as she stepped away to allow Ulysses to enter the vehicle. He waved to the crowd, gave her a last penetrating look before getting in and closing the door. Moments later, the car was moving off down the drive.

Sheara watched until it vanished through the far gate before turning to go back inside. No one bothered, respecting her need for privacy. They could see she was overcome with sadness over her lover's departure.

Darren Wenstar stood on the front porch and watched as everyone began to return to their day's various pursuits. Liam was standing near him when he spoke. "I have no doubt now that we will have a wedding between those two after their courtship is over." He said with certainty.

"I believe you are right, father. That last kiss was scorching enough to melt asphalt," Liam chuckled.

His father laughed loudly and clapped his son on the shoulder then went off to take care of his own work for the day.

Feral was ashamed to say that his thoughts remained firmly focused on Sheara rather than the work that awaited him at the end of his journey. He no longer felt conflicted about his feelings for her and was certain they would marry before the year was out.

In the back of his mind, he still had a small niggling fear about the health of his progeny. There was no telling what the effects would be on the kittens whose parents were subjected to that mad kats experiment. All he could pray for was they would be healthy...the rest would have to be dealt with as they appeared if anything did.

He sighed and relaxed further into his seat and daydreamed about his time spent with the beautiful she-kat. He felt really lucky to have made a real connection with her despite what they'd both gone through. For now, life was good.

His daydreams and the brief nap he'd indulged in were rudely interrupted by his arrival in Megakat City. It was late in the afternoon when his plane landed. He deplaned, got his bag and was pleased to find Sgt Fallon waiting to pick him up.

"Have a good trip, sir?" The sturdy sergeant asked politely.

"Yes. It was excellent and cleared up the matters I went there to deal with," Feral said as he climbed into his enforcer sedan.

"That is wonderful to hear, sir. Does that mean you might be getting married soon?" The sergeant asked, a small smile playing on his lips as he pulled into traffic and headed toward Enforcer Headquarters.

Feral felt his face burn. "Umm, well most likely......sometime by the end of the year maybe," he muttered, embarrassed.

"Fantastic, congratulations, sir. There are many of us who wish only happiness for you after all you've been through," Fallon said sincerely.

Feral could only blush even more and keeping his silent. He hadn't realized just how thoroughly he was being watched. Oh, he knew everyone was worried about his altered self but he hadn't thought they'd paid that much attention on whether he was happy or not. It felt....nice.

That warm feeling lasted until they were within sight of the imposing enforcer building. Suddenly, there was a screech of tires and the sound of metal crashing and screams of fear.

Immediately, Sgt Fallon slowed and tried to determine where the sounds were coming from as did Feral who had opened his car window and was leaning out.

"Pull over and park, Sergeant!" He barked.

Fallon did so as quickly as he could considering the traffic was now snarled and people were everywhere......running toward them in terror.

As soon as the car was stopped, Feral leaped out and headed forward, pulling his radio Fallon had given him, out of his pocket and called dispatch for a report.

"This is Feral! I'm one block from the enforcer building and there seems to be a major disturbance ahead of me. What can you tell me is going on?" He demanded.

"Sir, we've received a report of a monstrous plant monster marching down the street you're on and causing complete chaos by smashing buildings and cars out of its path. A squadron of tanks and a flight of choppers are on their way to your location," the dispatcher said hurriedly.

"Wonderful! Barely a few minutes home and Dr. Viper has to make an appearance," Feral growled more to himself than anyone else. He continued to push toward the scene so he could decide what needed to be done.

Suddenly there was a large opening in the crowd that streamed past him leaving him a clear view of a large thing some two stories high stomping on wide plant based stumps with at six writhing tentacle type arms that was at that moment tossing a car into a store front. It's head looked like a bunch of broccoli with four stalks containing red eyes on their tips looking around. It had a huge maw with sharp spines protruding from it as it roared an ear piercing noise guaranteed to deafen anyone near.

Feral had to flatten his ears in defense against the sound. Over that noise came a more familiar one that caused him to look up. The Turbokat appeared high above the thing. In seconds a quick barrage of slicer missiles flew toward the thing but Viper must have given it a heightened sense of self preservation because it moved like lightning out of the missiles way.

To Feral's dismay, the missiles struck a storefront and destroyed the billboard's supports, sending it falling down to the sidewalk filled with screaming people.

He barely had time to blink when another missile shot from the jet and quickly spread a net around the billboard, halting it's fall. The SWAT Kats had to waste valuable time by getting rid of their cargo quickly on a roof top.

While they were busy, Feral spoke with his officers arriving on the ground and in the air. He ordered them to fire at the thing. The barrage from above and below was deafening but unfortunately, was having no effect on the walking plant monster. Whatever Viper had done this time, he'd managed to make it nearly indestructible.

Scowling in frustration, Feral tried to come up with some way to take this thing out. As he looked frantically about, his sharp eyes caught sight of the instigator of this problem. Hissing savagely, he made a fast decision and began to strip off his clothes in the alley he'd found shelter in from the flying munitions.

Dumping his clothes in a cardboard box and placing it high up on a shelf to retrieve later, he altered to his war form and raced from the alley and down the street after the elusive mutant.

People screamed in terror at the sight of him but the plant monster was much more intimidating so they continued to run past while giving the new strange creature a wide berth as they fled the scene of violence.

His sharp nose was able to pick up Viper's odd scent with no trouble and was soon closing in on the lizard Kat. Viper was unaware he had a very dangerous predator on his tail as he halted in a recessed doorway and watched his masterpiece rampage against the city he hated.

"My creation isss doing itsss job perfectly. Once we reach Enforcer Headquartersss, I'll finally desssstroy thossse interfering soldierssss once and for all," he hissed in satisfaction. "Then the SWAT Katssss will be next."

"Don't' count your chickens before they hatch, Viper." Feral's deep and gravely voice ground out as he jumped the mutant.

"Wha......," Viper managed to get out before he was rolling on the ground with something that had very long fangs and claws.

He fought with his own fangs, claws and tail but wasn't much of a fighter so was rapidly losing ground to the huge, powerful thing atop him. He pulled his knees to his chest and struck out viciously causing the huge Kat-like thing to sail backward and hit a nearby wall with its back.

The move didn't halt the creature more than a second as it bounced back and sunk its claws into Viper's upper arms. The mutant screamed in pain and struggled to get free.

"Stop fighting me Viper, you'll only injure yourself further. You are under arrest," the thing rumbled in cold satisfaction.

Viper froze in shock as he stared at the face hovering over his. "Feral?" he asked in confusion as he realized he could just make out some of Feral's original features buried in the new persona.

Feral gave a rather frightening smile filled with long fangs. "You got it," he snickered, which sounded just wrong coming from that huge maw. "Now be a good mutant and call off your monster before I decide whether I want lizard on the menu."

If he could, Viper would have blanched. He somehow had no doubt Feral would do what he said from the predatory gleam he saw in those huge golden eyes.

Hissing in frustration and fury, Viper gave made a strange whistling sound. The monster that was still standing despite all the SWAT Kats and enforcers efforts, paused and turned its head toward its master.

As soon as it halted and froze in place, Razor chose napalm style missile and fired it straight down the creature's form. The missile ripped through the body through the head before lodging midway then exploding sending plant material everywhere and ending the threat at last.

Feral sighed mentally at the mess but didn't complain as he would have done a year ago. All that matter was the thing was down and out and he had Viper in custody. Everything else was unimportant.

His troops on the ground came to his side, some that hadn't seen Feral in his other form were a bit nervous but all were pleased that they had won. Even more importantly, it wasn't just the SWAT Kats that had done the job. That lifted many an enforcer's spirit.

Feral handed over his prisoner as soon as he pulled his claws free causing Viper to scream in pain again which kept him too preoccupied to escape. The SWAT Kats had landed nearby and had run to the scene to make sure it was safe again and spotted Feral shouting out orders to begin cleanup.

"Woah! Great work, Commander. That form of yours really came in handy." T-Bone said in admiration.

Feral gave a toothy grin as he responded, "And that was a perfect shot, Razor. For once, we took Viper out quicker than usual." Then his expression became more serious. "But I'm concerned at how close he nearly succeeded," he said more seriously.

"Yeah, I noticed that and that leads me to be even more concerned about what the other omegas have up their sleeves. While the world was involved in that mad kat's plan, these guys had remained out of sight. But now they're coming out of the woodwork much stronger than before. This is definitely not good," Razor agreed, grimly.

"I agree. We'd better hold a powwow on this quickly," Feral rumbled darkly.

"You want to do this right now?" T-Bone asked, frowning. "Didn't you just get into town?"

"Yes, I was just heading to the office when this happened but I'm not tired and I think we need to make some defensive plans asap," Feral said firmly.

"Okay. We'll meet up with you in a few," T-Bone sighed in resignation. Razor nodded in agreement then they turned and hurried off to their jet.

Feral nodded then moved off to retrieve his clothes. His sergeant was at his side having arrived at the same time as the SWAT Kats. Privately, he found working with the SWAT Kats an unusual thing and thought it would end with the war but he could see now that apparently, the Commander's working relationship with the two vigilantes had undergone a major change.

Sgt Fallon didn't know what that meant for the future but he did know they were in for some interesting times again.


	32. Chapter 31: Feral has a Daring Plan

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

Chapter 31: Feral has a Daring Plan

Climbing back into his car, Feral's mind was working furiously. He paid no attention when Sgt Fallon got in and drove them the short distance to headquarters. His body was on auto pilot as he climbed out of the car the moment it parked and hurried toward the lobby.

Many a surprised look and called out greeting was ignored as their Commander steamed through the lobby for the elevators, vanishing into a car the second it appeared. Faces held looks of consternation in his wake and tongues took to wagging about what was going on now that Feral would be so preoccupied the second he returned from his trip. It couldn't be good they said to one another.

Feral reached his office without even acknowledging his secretary nor his second in command who had been sitting at his desk. Taking his coat off, Feral's face held nothing but a distant concentration for some minutes longer as he headed for his desk.

Steele found his greeting frozen on his tongue. He'd been about to go to the alarm on Viper when he'd heard the Commander's voice over the radio. He decided he'd better stay here which turned out to be the right decision. But now he was confused by the Commander's grim demeanor and totally focused expression on whatever was on his mind. Quickly vacating the Commander's chair, he barely got out of the preoccupied tom's way. Deciding to be silent and wait, he watched Feral with concerned interest.

As for the Commander, his focus was completely on the idea that had struck him. His mind quickly put together the plan into a more coherent form. Seconds later, he burst into action, in a hurry to put this idea down on paper before it was lost. Once satisfied he had the salient points down, he reached for his phone and began dialing.

Steele and Fallon, who had arrived moments earlier, watched in puzzled confusion as the commander made call after call. His end of the conversation was equally confusing though the two did get an idea that he was calling all the alters from wherever they lived and asking them to come to Megakat City but for what reason, they were still in the dark about.

As they continued to listen, they finally were able to glean their commander was seeking help to rid their city of the omegas once and for all. He feared a massive strike was in the offing by possibly a coalition of omegas and he desperately wanted to head it off before it could happen.

The two turned to look at each other, the same look on each of their faces showed they agreed with Feral's plan. It would be wonderful to finally get the upper paw on these creeps.

The SWAT Kats had come in about that time and eyed Feral thoughtfully. Steele murmured what he thought was going on. He could see by their expressions that they thought this was a great idea as well.

Now all they could do was wait for Feral to finish his calls and tell them what he needed them for. Steele personally wasn't so sure Feral would have a better time of it finding the omegas though he did admit, with their special abilities and extra training it might be possible they could.

Finally, Feral stopped calling and returned his attention to the ones waiting before him. The SWAT Kats were leaning against the huge window wall, patiently waiting on him.

"Sounds like you have the makings of a good plan, Commander. So what's our part in it?" Razor asked when he saw Feral's attention was on them, finally.

"As you heard, I want to strike the omegas first before they get a chance to do the city harm. I want you to be prepared to strike with us as soon as we locate them. I suggest, Razor, you make some new toys and perhaps check with Professor Hackle on what he has on his work table. That Kat may be a pacifist, but he can't resist tinkering with new tech." Feral told him.

Razor blinked in surprise at that observation. "Well, damn, I never once thought of that and I know you're right about Hackle's tinkering. I've seen a lot of his stuff when we've visited his lab. Also, he has some experimental robots developed that might provide an edge against anything the rest of the omegas have planned for us. The fact that they've had a great deal of time to develop new and more powerful weapons to take over the city means we have to one up them without knowing what they've got."

"My thoughts exactly. We already have a way to communicate with you without using our open radios. Keep it that way so our enemies don't hear of our plans. Take off now and get with Hackle! You'll need all the time you've probably not got to get prepared," Feral told them gruffly.

"Gotcha! Keep in touch!" T-Bone responded, not at all put out by Feral giving him orders. This time, the irritating tom was spot on and he'd be foolish not to obey.

As he and Razor raced back to the Turbokat, he realized he was still surprised by Feral's new devious mindset. He had always been a good strategist but he was normally too rule bound to step outside the box and that had been his downfall. However, ever since his harrowing experience, he had become far more ruthless. T-Bone wondered if being a tiger might be the reason.

Well whatever the cause, he suspected with Feral leading the way, Megakat City would finally have peace.....that would be so cool. It would mean they as the SWAT Kats, might not be needed as much fighting crime in their home city. However, he had a strong suspicion he and Razor might be finding work that actually paid doing things for other countries to help the world recover from the war. They might not need to run a garage any longer and handling the salvage yard only, was very easy and not time consuming. They would have to wait and see how much of their life would change if the omegas were gone.

After the SWAT Kats left, Feral turned his attention to the two waiting patiently before him.

"Thank you, Steele for keeping things running so well. Give me an update on what you've managed to glean from your undercover operatives."

Over the next hour, Steele told him of all the small bits of information they had managed to find but that none had given them the location of the bad guys though they did get hints of something big about to happen.

"The local small time crooks and mob leaders are nervous. Many are actually leaving town for a while. Whatever the omegas have planned, its scared even the most hardened criminals." Steele said unhappily.

"Yeah, the SWAT Kats and I got that distinct feeling when we battled Viper's much stronger plants. That's how I knew something bigger was happening and wanted them in on it." Feral said grimly.

"And because the omegas don't know we are actively working with the SWAT Kats, that gives us a much needed edge. Having them at our call will be a shock, at least we hope so, when we find them and take them out," Steele added, knowing that was exactly what Feral was doing and pleased to have caught on so quickly.

Feral gave Steele a tight smile. Yes, he was very pleased at how well Steele had turned around. He was an excellent second now and could be relied on to make this plan work.

"You got it. Now what I want you to do is to continue as you have been. I suspect the omegas have been watching you closely so they can get a jump on the enforcers. They should continue to keep an eye on your undercover teams and hopefully not notice the new team sneaking up on them. The longer we can keep them in the dark, the better our chances will be to catch them in their hiding places," he rumbled, pleased with himself, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Fallon and Steele smiled as well. Finally, it looked like they might win this battle for the city once and for all.

While Feral and his enforcers planned their offensive against the omegas, far across the world a certain she-kat was weighing her options.

Sheara missed Ulysses terribly. He'd only been gone hours and yet it seemed like days. She knew then their short time together had truly cemented the tentative bond formed between their primitive selves. She'd gradually stopped fighting the fact she had found her soul mate. Though she was loathed to admit it out loud, she was forced to accept her primitive self had good taste and had been correct in her selection of a mate.

As the soon as the sun rose on another day, she went off to take a long walk and think about the decisions she needed to make about leaving home and joining the enforcers. Surprisingly, joining the enforcers was the easier of the decisions. She felt really good about that since the idea of giving up her military career had made her extremely unhappy as well as bored.

Usually, it wasn't a good idea for two officers to be involved if they were in the same command structure, but Ulysses and her situation was a bit different than the usual. Being altered made them very different from Katkind already, so concessions were being made in various military forces already, this would just be one of many but it still felt wrong to her.

She sighed and shook her head, she had to accept that things were different and that the things she had been taught about military command structures and comportment within the military no longer applied to her completely. She had to think of herself as more of a secret weapon, used when needed to keep the peace. And when not acting as a weapon, she could perform her normal duties without too much difficulty.

Her main concern had been the non-fraternization with one's superior rule. It was the stiffest one in all the military forces but Uly's solution to that had been a good one. Hopefully, the deputy mayor had agreed to it. She wouldn't know until she spoke with Ulysses again.

So the only problem holding her back now was leaving home.

Despite having already admitted to herself that she didn't want to be separated from Ulysses nor wait any longer to be his mate at the same time she was very reluctant to leave her family and the life she had known for so long. It was a big step leaving home. She had been a part of her military force most of her adult life. She hadn't lived anywhere else until she'd been kidnapped.

'What? Are you so hidebound you can't be willing to leave home? How pathetic! She-kats have left their homes for their husbands lands for centuries, why should this be any different?' She chided herself.

It wasn't she realized, smiling suddenly. 'Stop sabotaging your future and take the step outside the box you've been born in. Your mate awaits you!' She told herself firmly.

Finally at ease with her decision, Sheara turned around and went back to her home to find her father and inform him of her decision. She would be leaving for Megakat City as soon as she contacted Ulysses, packed her things, stored what she didn't need now, and settled her affairs.

Back in Megakat City and unaware of Sheara's momentous decision, Feral had gathered his fellow altered Kats and laid out the plans he had made to find the omegas. He and twenty others were gathered in his conference room.

"I want to break you up into teams of five with two experienced black ops members from my own forces added to each team. We know of places these omegas love to hang out and though we've not gotten a sighting of them, I'm certain they have to be nearby," he told them.

"What I propose is we all get the scent of the enemies were hunting. We have that on various objects we've confiscated from them. Then you shadow the teams that are already out there searching, ensuring you aren't spotted. I'm nearly 80% certain the omegas are watching the teams Steele has searching so hopefully they will remain focused on them and miss seeing you. Any questions?" Feral asked of the group surrounding him.

The mixed group of alters looked at each other then back at Feral and shook their heads.

"Perfect, then break up into teams, allowing for what animals are more comfortable working together to decide whose in what team." Feral said.

Moments later, five teams were waiting patiently for the next phase.

"As much as I want to be there with you, I must stay behind and coordinate the operation. You'll be given a contact point for me and for each other. We must keep in constant communication so nothing slips past us," he explained then turned to Fallon.

"Take them to be outfitted then assign them quarters to rest in and where the commissary is."

"Yes sir."

"Eat well. I've ensure plenty of protein will be on the menu for you," he said, grinning wolfishly at his teams, they smirked back. "Tonight you'll be sent out at eight p.m. sharp. I wish you all a good, successful hunt."

The group gave a brief cheer and a thumbs up before turning to follow the sergeant out.

"Oh, Sergeant!"

Sgt Fallon halted at the door to look back questioningly.

"Bring me something to eat as well."

The sturdy sergeant nodded then disappeared out the door behind the alters.

Steele watched the group leave with interest then turned back to his leader. "Hope this works sir. Would be so great to be free and at peace finally," he said wistfully.

"It will, Steele, it will!" Feral rumbled with certainty.


	33. Chapter 32: Recruiting Professor Hackle

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 32: Recruiting Professor Hackle**

After leaving Enforcer Headquarters, the SWAT Kats decided to go straight to Professor Hackle' lab now. As they got close to the Professor's bay side home, Razor radioed ahead.

"Calling Professor Hackle, requesting permission to land, code SK."

It took several minutes but soon a familiar voice came over the airwaves, "Permission granted."

"Roger, eta two minutes, out!"

T-Bone changed his heading slightly then dropped his altitude till he was just skimming over the bay. Just ahead of him he could just make out the huge hangar the Professor had hidden in the trees just opening its door. He slowed his airspeed then went to VTOL so he could come in slow and smooth. He glided over the ground until he was floating over the small concrete apron in front of the hangar. He set down, switched off VTOL then rolled the jet into the hangar.

He brought the Turbokat to a halt then singled the canopy to open as the hangar door was closing behind them. They jumped down from the cockpit and walked toward the hobbling elderly Kat heading for them.

"Hello, my friends. To what do I owe this unexpected visit?" Hackle asked warmly.

"Hi, Professor. We've got a request to make. Let's go sit down and we'll give you the low down on what's happening in the city right now," Razor said, coaxing the elderly Kat toward his computer work area where there were some chairs.

Once they were settled, Razor quickly briefed the canny inventor on the threat the city faced.

"Oh, that's terrible. I actually feared such a thing was happening when I heard odd rumors from some of my inventor friends and suppliers. One or more people were buying up explosives and biological products in fairly large quantities," Hackle said worriedly.

T-Bone and Razor stared at Hackle in shocked surprise.

"And you didn't say anything to anyone about this?" T-Bone blurted, angry and upset by the Professor's lack of involvement.

Hackle cocked an understanding eye at the pair. He knew exactly what they were thinking. "Now just a minute, young fellow. None of what I heard could be substantiated, being gossip only, and I remind you I'm sort of persona non gratis with the authorities and have been since I left the weapons production crowd."

"Sorry, Professor, but it was Feral who told us to speak with you. Does that sound like you're untouchable?" Razor said plainly.

"No, but I wasn't aware of his change in attitude. It doesn't matter now. It appears you are correct that the city's enemies are preparing for a major offensive. What does this have to do with me?" Hackle asked, bringing them back to the subject at paw.

Razor paused a moment to calm himself. This was going to take lots of tact. He respected the Professor's strict pacifist attitude and what he needed to ask was going to upset the old Kat.

"Well, we know you still tinker and wondered if you'd be willing to donate those weapons you have around to the cause of protecting the city? We understand your feelings on war and all and certainly respect you for them, however, I know you can't help inventing what you're familiar with."

Hackle frowned unhappily and got up from his seat to pace. Razor was right, his request didn't set well with him and he was also right about him continuing with his inventing.

Would he be dishonoring his stance on war by letting these two take the weapons he had developed but not done anything with? His objections was toward the senseless violence he saw around him but he was intelligent enough to know that the SWAT Kats and Feral did try their best to keep the peace so it wasn't their fault for the violence he so abhorred since it was caused by the omegas.

It didn't escape him that another pacifist had decided he wanted to end the violence by designing super soldiers and forcing the world's population to meet his vision of peace. Was he any different? Yes, because he didn't force anyone to see things his way and he didn't develop the weapons wholesale to be used in ongoing conflicts.

But he couldn't deny, that this was a different situation. This was the legitimate government trying to keep the peace against some super criminals that wanted to destroy it. In this he couldn't afford to just stand on the sidelines because if the criminals won, he would be a prisoner along with everyone else. He would also be held in contempt for not having done his duty to protect the city when he had the ability to.

He shook his head sadly. No matter how he hashed the subject around in his head, doing nothing cost lives but to protect those lives, his weapons of destruction must be used. He couldn't win.

"I'm sorry Professor. If it wasn't possible that our enemies could win this time, I would find some other way. I don't want you to compromise your beliefs, but I simply have no choice," Razor said gently.

"There's always a choice, Razor. But this time you are right. Our world has suffered enough from that mad Kat. I can't in good conscious ignore the threat that could undermine the efforts of the Commander and all those other poor soldiers that were altered. All I ask is that you do your best to not harm the innocent with what I give you, alright?" Hackle pleaded sadly.

"We promise we will do our best, sir," T-Bone said quietly.

"I know you will. Well then, let me show you what I have," Hackle said in resignation as he led the way to another lab area. Stopping at a table, he pulled a light cord and flooded the table with illumination.

Razor whistled at all the weaponry on the table. "Wow, you've been busy."

Hackle just blushed. He told them what each weapon did and ensured they knew how to use them.

"Thanks Professor. These should end the fight long before anyone gets hurt except for the bad guys," T-Bone said, pleased at the haul they made as he loaded it on the jet.

"There is one last thing we needed to discuss with you, Professor," Razor said when they had finished loading.

Cringing inside, afraid of what more they would ask of him, Hackle tried to display a calm he didn't feel. "And what would that be?"

"Your robots! Do you have any operational that could be used to keep.....say...Dark Kat from succeeding in using something big and bad against us?" Razor asked.

Hackle's thick eyebrows raised in surprise. "My robots? You want to use them?" He asked amazed as he remembered T-Bone's resistance to them the last time.

T-Bone blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah, I learned my lesson not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Cybertron was a great little robot with a big heart. I was sorry to see him damaged like that," he admitted.

The Professor smiled, pleased by T-Bone's change of heart. "I'm glad to hear that. Unfortunately, Cybertron is still out of commission but I do still have Cybertron II available."

"Oh, that's the really big robot you've got, isn't it?" Razor said

"Yes."

"Perfect. He'll be great at stopping Dark Kat for sure," T-Bone said enthusiastically. "But how do we transport him so no one will see?"

"I can send him to a location you desire under cover of darkness," Hackle suggested.

"Does he move as fast as Cybertron I did?" Razor asked doubtfully.

"Yes. He can be anywhere within minutes," Hackled assured him.

"Alright, then you'll have to be on alert for our signal. Feral is planning on doing a search beginning tonight. If we're lucky we'll find our targets quickly," Razor said.

"I'll be ready, don't worry," Hackle said, pleased one of his robots would be proving themselves to the public.

"Great. Then we're set. Let's get going, T-Bone. Later, Professor and thanks!" Razor said heading for their jet.

"You're welcome!"

Saying farewell, the pair jumped aboard the Turbokat and taxied out. They were soon on their way home. Razor called Feral on their private line.

"Feral!"

"Razor here. We've spoken to Hackle and have a load of really cool weapons on board. Also, he has a one story high robot that can provide us with excellent support when we confront Dark Kat," Razor told him.

"Excellent work! Then we're ready for tonight. Be on alert for my call!" Feral said, pleased with their success.

"Roger, standing by!" Razor said then cut the connection.

Feral turned to his two assistants. "We have good news. Hackle has given the SWAT Kats some new toys and he has a one-story high robot waiting for our signal. We're as ready as we can be. Steele?"

"Yes sir?"

"Order the teams to get some rest and eat. We go out at 2000 hrs tonight," Feral ordered.

"Yes sir."

"Oh and Steele," Feral barked, halting Steele in his tracks.

"Yes sir?"

"You will be my backup here if I'm needed on scene so get some rest yourself and be ready to handle the coordination if necessary. Sgt Fallon, you will act as liaison." Feral said as an after thought.

"Yes sir!" The two toms chorused then departed Feral's office.

Pleased to be ready for tonight, Feral finished up the work on his desk then left for food and a rest himself. He could hardly wait to begin the hunt. He had a good feeling they would be successful. In a good mood, he said good bye to his secretary and warned her to only transfer calls from the teams, Fallon or Steele and no one else then went home.


	34. Chapter 33: The Hunt for Omegas Begins

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

Chapter 33: The Hunt for Omegas Begins

The traffic on the drive home was busy enough to keep his mind on the road. Humming a tune to himself, he maneuvered expertly through the city's clogged streets until he reached his apartment building. He pulled into his parking garage and parked his hummer in its spot. Getting out, he secured it then walked to the elevator. Taking it up to the lobby, he paused to get his mail, greeted the security guard then caught the elevator to his floor.

Stepping into his apartment he shucked his coat and tie, laid the mail on the small side table with his keys then headed for his kitchen to make something to eat.....he was starving and his inner tiger was demanding meat.

Poking around in his fridge, he finally came up with a nice steak, some left over pasta and paired it with some left over peas. He marinated the steak and dropped it into a sizzling pan. While it seared, he began to peel a couple of potatoes then dropped them into a pot of already steaming water. He flipped the steak, his mouth watering already from the wonderful smell. Cooking it only a little, liking it more red than pink then transferred it to the waiting plate holding the other ingredients for his meal. Another ten minutes and he was mashing the potatoes then sitting down and devouring his meal with gusto.

Pleasantly replete, he put the dishes in the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen, then went out to the living room where he grabbed his mail then dropped into his favorite easy chair. He picked up his controller and flicked on the TV and read his mail. He watched for an hour or so then flicked the set off and stretched. Getting up, he began to head to his bedroom when he spotted his answering machine blinking, warning of a message waiting for him.

Stopping by it, he pressed the button and listened.

"_Hello? Ulysses, this is Sheara. After thinking over your offer since you left and talking with my family, I've come to the decision to accept. I've made arrangements to fly to your city on the next available flight. I hope you get this message and have a chance to call me before I leave. Till later, bye!"_

His face split into a huge grin as he realized, to his surprise, it was only a full day since he'd left her, it had felt like longer. Hurriedly, he picked up his receiver and dialed Sheara's number. After four rings, someone answered.

"_Wenstar residence!" _A young voice said.

"Hello, this is Ulysses Feral, I'm returning Sheara's call. Is she there?" He asked pleasantly.

"_Oh, yes, Commander.....one moment.....I'll get her....."_

Feral only had to wait a few minutes before Sheara's voice came over the line. _"Ulysses, so glad you were able to catch me before I left, are you well?"_

"Yes I am. It's been busy here so I was staying at the office, only came home to get a bite and a nap before going back tonight. I just spotted the answer machine blinking.....sorry it was so late," he murmured warmly.

"_That's alright love, so good to just hear your voice again," _Sheara soothed.

"And yours too. I'm glad you've decided to come join my enforcers."

"_Well, after moping around here after you left, I realized I can't stand not working. I need to be doing and since my own military won't take me back that leaves you."_

"I'm sorry about you being forced out of your own military but their loss is my gain as I see it and I can offer fringe benefits," he said, his voice dropping to a more intimate tone.

"_I bet you can," _she purred, amusement lacing her voice. _"I did want to confirm that my performance report would not be written by you and that it is okay for me to be under your command even though we are....intimately involved."_

"As to that, I've already spoken with Deputy Mayor Briggs and she said she'd be glad to be responsible for doing your performance report if it meant gaining another qualified officer to the enforcers," he told her as he took a seat on the couch so he was more comfortable while he talked.

"_That's good to know and relieves my mind a great deal. Please thank her for me and I'll be pleased to meet her when you introduce us," _she murmured, happy she'd made the right decision and that there would be no difficulties in beginning work there.

"I'll be happy to and I'm truly looking forward to seeing you again."

"_As am I, my love. I've set my affairs in order and have packed the things I'll have my family ship to me when I have a residence."_

As she talked, he came to a sudden decision. 'Well, why not?' He asked himself and in his next words, he sealed his fate. "If I'm not being too presumptuous, would you be willing to move in with me?" His heart beating fast in his chest as he anxiously waited for her response to his bold proposal.

She sucked in her breath and thought quickly. She'd planned on getting an apartment and continuing their courting until they'd decided to make their arrangement permanent. She'd never expected him to decide further courting was unnecessary and had gone on to accept their bond as a done deal. He was already making plans for their future as a mated couple. This was so incredibly sudden she was left with no words to express her surprise.

"_I......uh, are you sure about this Ulysses? We've only just begun to know each other and have barely begun courting.....aren't we rushing things?" _She asked, hesitantly.

Feral chuckled softly. "Sheara, love.....if you feel the same way I do when we were only apart a few days, I think we've long since gone past the need to court any longer and that moment at the falls cemented it for me. My life is full of danger and I've learned that I need to seize an opportunity before it gets away from me because I never know what the next day might bring. I used to bide my time, waiting and watching, but after what happened to us, I don't want to waste precious time beating around a bush that's already been trampled for the sake of society's rules. Live for the Day has become my motto and I intend to live my life to the fullest and that includes having you by my side to share it with. So with that being said, I formally request your paw in marriage," he stated solemnly, his stomach fluttering with butterflies.

Sheara's breath was stolen away by Ulysses' proposal and what he'd said about seizing the day because you never knew what tomorrow would bring, applied to her as well. Waiting and courting was wasting time when their hearts were already one. Swallowing hard, her throat clogged with happy tears, she barely managed to get out her acceptance. _"Ulysses, my love, I do feel as you do. We've come together now as tigers and as Kats and have felt the fires of a true bonding. I accept your proposal of marriage with all my heart and will so inform my parents." _

Feral felt leaping up and down, his grin nearly splitting his face. He was getting married. 'Wow! What an incredible feeling that is!' He thought giddily. "I will cherish you and love you to the end of our lives, as long as that might be. I can hardly wait for your arrival, my love."

"_Nor I, my love. My family is going to be over the moon but not really surprised, I'm sure. They will want a big formal wedding but there is no hurry in getting that done right now. I personally would rather wait until the kitten is born first," _She said, amused by the sound of giddiness she could hear in his voice. She knew he was smiling just as broadly as she was.

"There will be time to discuss all that when we are together. We have many things to accomplish right away. It will be a busy time for both of us," he said warmly.

"_That's so very true, Uly. Now, though I don't want to, I must say goodbye so I can finish packing, speaking with my family and catching a flight. Will you be able to pick me up at the airport?" _She asked, warm and happy.

"I wish I could say yes my love, but I'm sorry I'll be at work dealing with that problem I told you about. I've put my plans into play and will be seeing them be fulfilled very soon," he said, carefully talking in code, not taking any chances he was under surveillance by his enemies

Sheara frowned at the sudden cryptic language. She quickly went over all their recent conversations, understood he was probably under surveillance, then realized what he was trying to not say_. "Ahh, you're talking about the mice trying to undermine your home and you've developed a plan for dealing with them. That's wonderful news," _she said carefully.

Feral grinned......she'd understood. He loved how intelligent she was and how much pleasure he was going to have working with her. "I'm pleased as well and will be glad to have most of them taken care of before you get here. Don't want you bothered by an infested house on your first day here."

"_No, I wouldn't want that either. Good thing I already have your address so I'll just take a taxi and wait for you there, okay?"_

"That will be perfect. Can't wait to see you again. I'll advise the security guards for my apartment to expect you so they will let you in. Please make yourself at home and have a safe flight, my love," Feral said warmly.

"_I will, though it will be a very tiring trip. See you soon, my love," _Sheara murmured then hung up.

Feral sighed, his heart leaping with joy as he closed his phone. Now if only tonight was a success then he would have gotten all his heart's desired in this life. He didn't regret now that he was no longer normal since his new talent was going to insure his city would be safe at last.

Though hyped up with anticipation about tonight, he knew he needed to take a nap to recharge so he would be sharp for later. Getting up from the chair he'd been sitting in, he headed to the bedroom and stripped his clothes off. Laying down on his bed, he let his mind drift back to the happy memories of being with Sheara and letting those wonderful moments pull his mind into slumber.

After napping for about three hours, he woke more refreshed. He quickly showered then dressed in a unmarked flight suit. One of many he'd procured for ease of changing his form. Grabbing his wallet and keys, he was out the door. He paused to speak with the evening security guard, warning him of his mate's arrival. He received a hearty clap on the back and congratulations on getting married before he took the elevator down to the parking garage.

Mindful, that his stomach needed to be full, he pulled into a drive through and ordered a huge bag of burgers and fries to feed himself and his teams. He was off again, making for work.

At headquarters, the special ops teams with the alters were waiting for him in his office. The SWAT Kats arrived shortly after. He laid the food on the table and ordered the alters to eat. He grabbed a burger and fries for himself.

"Alright, eat up! We don't want a repeat of yesterday. Is everyone ready to go? You all have the special communicators?" He asked the group. He received affirmative nods all around though there were some puzzled looks about the 'not repeating the killing part' of the orders.

"Excellent! When you've finished your food, take off and keep in touch at all times," he ordered.

The teams nodded, scarfed their food then headed out. Feral's, 'Good hunting!' ringing in their ears.

Feral glanced over at Steele, Fallon and the SWAT Kats as he finished his own food, saying, "Now all we can do is wait."

"And that's the hardest part of all," T-Bone growled, taking a seat on one of Feral's chairs. Razor chose to pace the wall of windows for a while as did Feral.

Each team was driven to where the surveillance teams were located and dropped off. They quickly disappeared into the gathering night. The hunt was on.


	35. Chapter 34: First up to bat: Hard Drive

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 34: First one up to bat: HARD DRIVE!**

More than three hours later the call they'd been waiting impatiently for came in. Feral and the SWAT Kats were drinking soda and eating a light snack for lack of anything else to do when the Chief Enforcer's comm unit went off shrilly.

"Feral!"

"Team three here, sir. Have a positive sighting on Hard Drive," the team leader told him. "We're following him to see if he'll lead us to anyone else. What are your order?"

Feral paused and thought a moment, then spoke into his comm, "continue shadowing him. If he leads you to more of the omegas that will be great but if he holes up then we'll take him out."

"Roger...out!" The comm went silent.

"Waiting again!" T-Bone sighed staring out at the evening sky in boredom as he sat with his feet up on a coffee table.

"That's the nature of the game, buddy.......hurry up and wait," Razor sighed, using the waiting time to rest his eyes.

Feral said nothing as he got up from his seat and went to one of the windows near his desk. Choppers were taking off and landing on the flight line below him as night shift went about its business.......life as usual.

Routine was sometimes a soothing thing and Feral looked forward to it being that way mostly all the time when the omegas were out of the picture. He intended to spend a lot of time with his wife to be.

His thoughts were interrupted when his comm signaled again. He pulled it out, "Feral!"

"Sir, Hard Drive has unfortunately, gone to roost. Orders?"

Feral sighed in disgust. "Fine......what's your location?" The team leader gave him an address uptown. "Right! We'll be there in ten......continue your surveillance until we get there." He cut the connection and turned to the SWAT Kats who were already on their feet.

"Okay, let's go. Suggest we go by cyclotron and take him on the ground. Don't want anyone to know you're out and about yet. The night is still young and we still have the others to find," Feral told them as he hurried across the floor, making for the door.

"Good idea but I have one special device that will snuff Hard Drive's power in nano second. I left it in the jet, so I'll grab it on the fly." Razor said, a smirk on his lips as the group raced to the elevators and took it to the flight line one floor below.

"Jump aboard, Feral. We'll have to take the Turbokat to the ground to release the bikes," T-Bone shouted to the Commander as they ran to the jet parked at the end of the flight line. Feral simply agreed by continuing to follow them up to the jet then leaping to the cockpit behind them.

As soon as everyone was secured, T-Bone took the Turbokat upward far enough to clear the flight line then headed to a dark field not far away from headquarters and set down again. They jumped down into the cargo hold and got out their bikes.

Razor had grabbed what looked like a small box before getting on his bike. Feral gave him a curious look but said nothing as he climbed on behind the smaller SWAT Kat then they were rolling down the ramp and off the jet. They paused a moment so that T-Bone could secure the Turbokat then they took off in the direction given by the team leader.

Reaching the area where the team was hiding, the SWAT Kats shut off their bikes and rolled them along as they made for their rendevous. A soft call attracted Feral's sensitive ears and he turned suddenly down an alley with the pair following him. Hidden behind two huge dumpsters, team three stepped out to greet the arrivals.

"Where is he?" Feral asked softly.

"Third floor, second apartment," came the quick response.

"Is he still wearing his trench coat?"

"Last we saw and that was five minutes ago, sir."

"Must mean he's not ready to settle for the night and is on alert," Feral muttered. "You stay here and guard our rear. If he makes a break we want to know where he's heading as fast as possible so we don't lose him."

"Yes sir!" The team leader said briskly in a low tone then he and his team melted back into the shadows.

Feral and the SWAT Kats quickly made their way to the front of the building and went inside. At this hour, there was no one about, fortunately. The foyer was plain with beige walls and white and black tiles on the floor. They skipped the elevator and made for the stairs, which were carpeted, running silently up them as fast as possible.

T-Bone and Razor stayed back and allowed Feral to use his sensitive hearing to listen at the door to see if the coast was clear. After listening intently for some five minutes, Feral opened the stair door silently and peered out, cautiously.

The hall was more of that boring beige color and the carpet was a brown pattern of some kind and worn in some places. Dim lights barely illuminated the hall which was to their favor.

In some of the apartment, a TV could be heard, a kitten crying, and someone yelling at someone else. The noise would make it easier for them to sneak up on their quarry.

He signaled it was safe then crept out first, staying close to the wall and moving silently.

Within seconds, they soon stood before the apartment Hard Drive was supposed to be in. The door was dinged badly and the paint was gouged here and there.

Feral leaned close and listened. He heard footsteps moving back and forth as if the occupant was pacing, which he probably was. He made positive ID when the one inside began cursing to himself. It was Hard Drive alright.

He stepped away from the door and went back down the hall a little ways. The SWAT Kats followed him.

"What's up?" T-Bone asked in a whisper.

"It's him alright. How does your weapon work, Razor?" Feral asked.

"It's a Faraday box. When Hard Drive becomes energy and tries to escape I'm going to hurl this at him. It opens in a nano second then closes around the energy snapping shut just as fast, trapping him inside.

Feral nodded. "So the plan is to scare him into turning to energy and escaping rather than attacking. I can do that but you need to be ready to spring your trap so I suggest as soon as I charge into the room, you slip to the side and try to get as close to him as you can. T-Bone and I will keep his attention on us but you're not going to get more than that nano second you mentioned," he warned.

"I know. I'll be ready!" Razor said grimly, holding the box at the ready.

"How are you going to scare him enough to make him run, Feral?" T-Bone asked, not to keen on getting crispied while he was acting as a distraction.

"You'll see," Feral said mysteriously then stripped off his coveralls and altered.

"Ah...yeah that will do it alright!" T-Bone said, grinning wickedly then all three of them hurried back down the hall.

Feral stood to the left of the door while T-Bone took the right. Razor hid behind Feral and waited his chance as soon as they charged into the room. T-Bone would have to be the one opening the door so he took a stance and slammed a foot into the door, kicking it open violently.

Hard Drive had been only ten feet inside the room and had been facing away when the door hit the wall. He whirled preparing to fire his devastating energy when Feral hurled forward and slammed the techno thief hard enough to send him flying into the far wall.

Razor slipped in and hurried along the wall as Feral galloped forward and roared loudly into Hard Drive's face then ducked to the side to avoid a reflexive shot from the omega. T-Bone was nearly struck by it but luckily, had been to one side when it went off. Instead it made a sizable hole in the wall that let them see out into the hallway.

Terrified, Hard Drive shrieked in terror and instead of trying to engage his energy fully he turned up the strength and turned himself into energy. Just what Razor was waiting for.

He tossed the box which sprang open then snapped shut around the thief before he could vanish through a nearby outlet. The box hit the floor and buzzed and rattle violently but none of the energy escaped the box.

"Bingo!" Razor crowed.

Feral altered back to his normal Kat form and T-Bone, who had stuffed Feral's flight suit in his belt, handed it over so the tom could dress before any of the residents came to investigate the racket, though, he felt fairly certain these apartment dwellers weren't curious enough to stick their noses in what could be trouble.

Pleased at the quick completion of their mission, Feral got on his cell and contacted team three, sending them back to their search mission once more.

"Okay, now that he's captured, I need the place searched for anything incriminating he might have here," he ordered.

"Roger!" The pair said then split up, Razor keeping firm control of the Faraday box.

After thirty minutes, they came up empty.

"Place is clean, not even a toothbrush," T-Bone growled.

"Then this was just a temporary stopping place," Feral said flatly. "Fine, let's go back to headquarters and wait."

Saying nothing more, the three headed back down the stairs. Feral had closed the apartment and would have his CSI check it over more thoroughly but he didn't expect much. Minutes later, they were zooming through non-existent traffic toward Enforcer Headquarters.

On their arrival, the pair stored their cyclotrons and flew the jet back up to the flight line once more.

Feral led them to the elevators and pushed the button for the cell block. "How long before we can get him out of there and question him?"

"Hmm, well it depends on how much energy he had stored and I simply can't answer that. It might be just a few hours or it could be all night," Razor said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Damn, I was hoping to make our search shorter by wringing some answers from that weasel. Now all we can do is wait until the teams scare up something," Feral said in disgust.

Growling to himself, Feral walked off the elevator and to his office followed by the quiet pair. The waiting began again.


	36. Chapter 35: Second one up: Dr Viper!

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 35: Second one up: Dr. Viper!**

T-Bone eyed Feral nervously. They'd been waiting more than two hours and Feral was pacing back and forth before his wall of windows. He was beginning to act way too much like his tiger alter for the SWAT Kats comfort. Razor was taking a nap so wasn't aware of Feral's more primitive nature making an appearance. It didn't help matters that they'd been informed Dr. Viper had managed to escape. Feral had passed the word to his teams and insured one of them was heading to the swamps to search. This last bit of news had made Feral even more restless and irritable.

Speaking cautiously, the tabby said, "hey, Commander.......maybe you need to run off some steam. I can call you if there's word."

Feral paused and jerked his head toward the pilot, his eyes were glowing a bit and he definitely had a feral look about him.......fitting his last name very well......certainly more than the tabby wanted to see.

"No. Just a bit uptight but I don't want to miss a call," he said flatly, a deeper growl issuing from his chest as he turned away and began pacing again.

"If you say so," T-Bone muttered softly.

By another hours passing, T-Bone was about ready to fire a gas grenade at Feral. The pacing had increased in tempo and a low rumbling growl had been added. It was with much relief, that T-Bone heard Feral's cell phone finally ring shrilly. Razor snapped awake instantly and listened to Feral's half of the conversation.

"Feral!"

"Sir, team five.....we're on the south side, searching the swamp. We've got a good sighting of one of Viper's plant monsters. I think its guarding the mutant's hideaway, orders?"

Feral's face split into an evil grin. "At last!......Hold your position and don't let him see you there! I'll join you as quick as I can. Feral out! Come on you two, Viper's been located."

"Alright! Dr. Viper's as good as caught!" Razor said gleefully. "I'm itching to try some of the new type freeze and electrical devices the professor gave us."

"Let's go then!" Feral barked as he nearly ran out of his office and took the stairs to the flight line.

Within minutes, the three were aboard the Turbokat and on their way to Megakat Swamp.

T-Bone couldn't land too close because of the swampy ground. Razor, using his sonar, found a firm area that would be safe to park the jet and the pilot brought it silently down to land in VTOL mode. Once on the ground, the armed up, except for Feral, then headed in the direction team five said they'd be.

It took more than fifteen minutes to navigate the dark, nasty swamp before finding the team who had a scout waiting for them so they wouldn't blunder into the danger zone.

"Sir, follow me.....the guard hasn't detected us, as we have been careful to be downwind of it," the scout whispered softly then lead them further into the swamp.

They quickly met up with the rest of the team. Feral gathered them close.

"Alright, I want my altered members to go in with me in our primitive forms to take out Viper," he ordered then turned to the ones who were normal, "the SWAT Kats have some new weapons that hopefully will take out all of Viper's guards. The rest of you will give them cover. Wait five minutes for us to get in position. Keep in touch. Let's go!"

Finished with orders, Feral stripped off his flight suit as his fellow alters did the same then became their primitive forms. A tiger, bear, wolf, and leopard headed off into the swamp.

The team leader, who was not an alter, kept track of the time. No sound but the usual night noises of the swamp denizens were heard as they waited. Then the team leader called 'time'.

"Alright....let's rock and roll!" T-Bone growled as he and Razor led the way toward Viper's supposed den.

Feral used his nose to detect Viper's distinctive odor from all the other smells of the swamp. Moving stealthily, the animals pushed through the high weeds and cattails coming up on an old tree that had an odd look about it.

Feral could smell metal. The tree hid a metal door. Growling under his breath at the lack of opposable fingers and a weapon, he decided they had to make Viper come out. Before he could relay that to the others a loud commotion behind them signaled the rest of the group's attack.

'Oh well, that'll work too!' He thought. The ones with him formed a half circle before the door. They couldn't be seen as they were hiding in the high grass that surrounded the tree and they were very still.

_Elsewhere in the swamp_.......

Razor was firing on several plant guards that looked like thorned trees with his new freeze weapon. It turned that section of swamp into a white winter land.

The team leader had been whipped into the air by a sneaky vine that had slithered from behind him. He cooly shot his laser at it limb, as did the other enforcer which severed it. He fell to the ground but got up quickly to rejoin the fight.

From the sky came flying acid spitters which T-Bone handily took out with brace of mini-missiles filled with a special baking soda that neutralized the acid and, as an added bonus, clogged the plant's mouths so that the acid backed up in their systems and they exploded, lighting up the night briefly.

The two black ops officers fired their lasers at anything that tried to leap or grab the two SWAT Kats as the pair swiftly swept the area with their new weapons.

The group paused when there appeared to be no more enemies and allowed the uproar to quiet so they could listen for anymore attackers. For a long moment silence greeted them as the normal animals of the swamp had gone quiet in fear or left the area to the fighters. Then, suddenly a loud roar filled the air and out of the dark came a huge mushroom monster.

"Crud! That things bigger than the last one Viper sent our way!" T-Bone yelled, firing matchhead missiles at it, setting fire to its top but not doing much damage.

"Let's see if a combination of electricity and cold will take that thing out. Here buddy, take the cold ray and fire at its face," Razor shouted, tossing the weapon to his partner who caught it easily.

T-Bone put the bazooka-like weapon to his shoulder and fired where Razor directed. The blue beam struck true and turned the mushroom creature's face into a frozen white mess.

Razor had been waiting his turn and now fired his electrical device. High voltage shot out and struck the towering plant. It couldn't scream any longer with ice in its face but its body and limbs were shaking violently then it simply exploded, spraying plant matter everywhere.

"Oh yuck! That stinks!" The team leader said, holding his nose.

"You got that right! Geez, it smells like week old garbage. Let's get out of here and see how the Commander and his group are doing catching Viper," T-Bone said, holding his nose as well.

The group tramped through the water and mud till they reached the tree that was supposed to be Viper's hiding place. What greeted their eyes was shocking.

_Meanwhile at Viper's place............_

It took about five minutes of weapon's fire and loud roars of dying creatures before Viper opened his door to look out. Feral suspected he took so long to appear because he might have surveillance cameras about......or did have.....since he was fairly certain the SWAT Kats had taken them out during their battle against Viper's plant army.

No one moved as they waited for Viper to move further outside. They didn't want him to turn and barricade himself in. Feral wouldn't put it past the lizard to have a back door out.....so they really didn't want the omega to go back inside.

"Drat thosssse SSSWAT Katssss! How did they find me?" Viper hissed angrily. He stepped away from his tree and signaled to something the waiting animals couldn't see.

A loud roar of something that wasn't an animal erupted from the direction Viper had signaled. Against the moonlit sky, a monstrous mushroom creature......bigger than the last one they'd seen before......shoved its way through the vegetation toward its master.

'Okay! Not good! Better take out Viper before that reaches us!' Feral thought quickly. With a loud roar he leapt from his hiding place followed immediately by his fellow alters.

Viper gaped, unable to make a sound before Feral fell on him. Panic stricken, Viper allowed instincts to take over as he violently shoved the huge tiger off him with his powerful feet, used his tail to swat the face of the leopard and slithered beneath the bear who had risen to his ponderous feet.

But just as he thought he was home free and was about to slide into the water nearby, the wolf appeared suddenly beside him and snatched the mutant by the neck, flicking him back among the predators who hemmed him in, preventing any escape.

He should have froze and remained still but he was only focused on escape and not really thinking at all.......that was his last mistake. He got to his feet and sprang upward lightning quick, attempting to reach a tree limb above Feral. His movement caused all the predators to attack.

Feral caught an arm, the wolf one leg, the leopard another leg and the bear grabbed the lizard's mid section. It was a rather gruesome death and not much of their enemy remained but pieces and then maybe not much of that either since a few of the predators were hungry.

Blood on his muzzle, Feral moved off to lick himself clean. He paid no attention to the sounds of feeding a few feet from him. Finished with his toilet, he raised his head and listened to the swamp. He realized the huge plant monster was no longer around. Silence greeted his ears for a moment then he heard the rest of the team heading their way. A sniff of the air, told the tiger no more enemies were left.

T-Bone was in the lead as the group broke through the vegetation. He stopped before Feral, glancing past him. The tiger could hear the Kat let out a breathe of shock.

"Uhm, someone was hungry?" The tabby asked weakly.

Feral just snorted.

"Ewww! That's a nasty way to go!" Razor choked, looking away after catching a brief view of the kill under the moonlight, really grateful it was too dark to see much.

The two black ops officer's turned rather pale but made no comment as they too kept their eyes averted.

The night was nearly gone, dawn was but three hours away when the teams were called back in to rest. It was a celebratory group that met at Enforcer Headquarters. Two omegas were capture or dead. A successful night's hunt.

Feral thanked them all for their great work, bade them get some sleep and to report by eight that night to resume the hunt.

The teams laughed and clapped each other on the back as they left for their temporary quarters within the enforcer building.

Feral turned to the SWAT Kats. "Great work, you two. Those weapons of Hackles were very effective it seems. I'll want to debrief you so report to me thirty minutes before the other's are supposed to."

"Sure, no problem," T-Bone agreed easily.

"Uhm, Commander? Wasn't that a rather drastic way to take out Viper?" Razor asked, still rather disturbed by how Viper had died.

Feral eyed Razor for a moment. The SWAT Kat seemed really upset by what had happened. Sighing mentally, he said quietly, "I really hadn't planned for that to happen, Razor. Believe me it wasn't deliberate. Viper should have stayed put when he was surrounded by us but he chose to leap into the air to escape to a tree limb above us," he shrugged his shoulders and said, "we're predators......move and we'll attack and kill.....that's just what we are. I can't change what I am even if I wanted to. I hope it never happens again and I'll do my best to prevent it. What else can I say?"

"I guess you're right. You didn't ask to become what you and the others are now. I understand that. I guess its my more civilized side that found what happened very disturbing," Razor admitted.

"I understand and a part of me is really disturbed that I could do that as well but I've since learned to accept my primitive side as who I am or I'd go crazy by now," Feral murmured. "Actually, though, if we eat a heavy meal before going out to hunt then the chances of that happening will be lessened," he tried to be upbeat about it.

"Well, I guess that would be helpful alright. At least it will prevent any more 'accidents'," Razor said, accepting this was something he couldn't change and let it be. "We'd better be off then. I'm beat!"

"I'm with you buddy! See you tomorrow night, Feral," T-Bone said as the pair turned and left.

Feral yawned and stretched. He should write up the crime scene notes but he was tired and stressed out. Tomorrow was going to be busy enough. Turning off the lights and locking his door, he left for the elevators.


	37. Chapter 36: A Welcome Visitor

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 36: A Welcome Visitor**

Dawn was painting the sky in rich hues of reds and oranges as Feral drove home. He yawned again.

'Crud, am I beat!' He thought as he pulled into his parking spot under his apartment some ten minutes later.

The only thing on his mind when he unlocked his door was taking a much needed shower and going to bed. Locking the front door and not turning on any lights.....he didn't need them....he began peeling off his sticky flight suit on his way to his bedroom. He'd almost reached the bedroom door when he froze.

A familiar scent lingered on the air. He took a deeper sniff and groaned in pleasure. How had he forgotten she would be here? Smiling to himself, he continued to strip his clothes off as he entered his bedroom.

Laying sound asleep in his bed was Sheara. Her beautiful blond locks were spread over his pillow catching the rising sun peeking through a crack in his bedroom curtains.

Smiling tenderly down at her, he decided not to wake her and turned to the bathroom. Closing the door, he turned on the shower. He sighed in pleasure as the hot water soothed tired muscles. He reached for the soap and began to work it through his coat.

Suddenly there was a draft at his back. Before he could turn, a pair of beautiful arms wrapped themselves around his waist and luscious curves with a pregnant belly pressed against his back.

"Good morning, beloved," a throaty voice said making his blood heat.

"Morning to you, my love. How was your flight," he murmured, turning in her arms and depositing a kiss on her forehead.

"It was boring, uncomfortable, and long!" She said impishly, nipping his chin.

"Oh really, then perhaps you need some excitement," he purred hotly.

"Maybe....."

It was the longest shower he'd ever taken but he never noticed until the water ran cold.

"Well, that's one way to douse a wonderful afterglow," Sheara smirked, ruefully as she shivered, stepping out quickly to dry and get warm again.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of time to stoke the fire again and enjoy many more afterglows," he promised wickedly as he too dried then the two of them returned to the bed for more play time.

It wasn't until nearly lunch time before the two drifted into deep sleep in each other's arms. Hours passed before they woke sometime after five in the evening.

"Hmm, I'm hungry," Sheara said, yawning then sitting up to stretch.

Feral's eyes lingered over her beautiful body as he continued to lay there, totally contented. She smiled down at him then leaned over and gave him a kiss.

"Come on you! I mean it I'm starving!" She insisted, giving him a playful shake then climbed off the bed to make for the bathroom.

Sighing and stretching himself, Feral finally sat up and left the bed to get his cell phone. He called in a dinner order then went into the bathroom after Sheara departed and headed for her suitcases.

When he came out, shaved and ready to get dressed, Sheara was dressed in a comfortable pantsuit and loafers. "I have to get to the office. At least my desk won't be groaning under paperwork as Steele will have cleared the most important stuff for me since I didn't come in as planned. He's turned into an incredibly efficient second in command, much to my pleasure," he commented as he dressed in a clean flight suit.

She blinked in surprise at his attire. "That's not your uniform."

"It is for the hunting I've been doing."

"Oh yes, you told me that. How was last night's hunt?" She asked as they went into the living room to sit and wait for dinner to arrive.

"We got Hard Drive and, unfortunately, my team got a little hungry so Viper never made to a cell," he said with a shrug.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Forgot to eat before going out?"

"Well, I did eat but my teams had been out for hours so......."

"They were hungry. Oh, Ulysses, that shouldn't have happened," she scolded him lightly.

He looked a little chastened, "yeah, I know. In our defense, this was our first time using our primitive forms for something other than hunting food. Trust me, the conditions last night were unusual and I'm surprised we didn't go into blood lust and take out our companions. I never told the two officers nor the SWAT Kats, just how close they came to being on the menu," he sighed and shook his head, "our primitive sides are very scary and I've learned a valuable lesson. This shouldn't happen again unless the circumstances cause it, like being attacked and hurt."

She shook her head in concern. "That's not very comforting. We're not supposed to be a danger to our fellow Kats. What happened to you and the others could very well happen to our fellow alters elsewhere. We better warn them or we'll be treated with as much fear as your omegas are now," she warned.

Feral's eyebrows rose. Now **that **he'd never considered. What she said was very sobering and could very well happen if they weren't more careful. "I'm sorry, you are very right about that and I could kick myself for not considering it."

"At least you've learned it before it could snowball into a nightmare we couldn't recover from. It makes me shudder with fear at what could happen to us. We might be exiled from our homes or worse, killed as a dangerous creature," she said fearfully.

"Easy love. Consider this our wake up call. Since I'm responsible for writing the report on last night's activities, I'll just not go into detail about how Viper died. Though, I hate writing an incomplete report, you're right about the danger. I'm not covering it up but I am going to down play it enough to prevent serious repercussions toward all alters. We'll just have to learn to ensure we aren't a threat by taking proper precautions. No one knows what it takes to control our primitive sides but ourselves so its our responsibility alone to insure we aren't a danger to Katkind," he said seriously, already thinking about how he'd write the report and the calls he needed to make to all alters.

Sheara relaxed and sighed. She was very grateful Ulysses had heeded her warning. The alternative was too terrible to think about. He was right, though, if this hadn't happened in a more or less controlled environment, they wouldn't have learned they had a problem and what she'd predicted would have come true in so many terrible ways.

"Ulysses, I'd be happy to contact the others since you're very busy and I have nothing to do but sit around," she suggested.

He smiled at her. "That's a wonderful idea, Sheara. Thank you. I have to debrief the SWAT Kats at seven and my teams arrive for the evening hunt at eight so I wouldn't have had time tonight anyway."

"Good, I'm glad to be of use......oh....sounds like dinner is here!" She said excitedly when the doorbell rung.

"I'll get it! You go on into the kitchen and I'll bring it there," he said rising to answer the door.

She got up as well and headed to the kitchen. She'd made herself a meal when she'd arrived earlier in the day so knew where the dishes were stored. She was setting the table when he came in carrying several bags smelling heavenly.

"Hmmm, smells delicious. Hope you ordered plenty,"she said as she helped him serve it up.

"Of course! Seconds of everything," he smiled as he sat down next to her and they dug into their food hungrily.

An hour later, he left for the office after giving her a deeply passionate kiss.

"Good luck, Ulysses and return to me safely," she murmured warmly.

"I will do my best, love. See you later," he said in parting then left the apartment.

She sighed, checked the time and calculated the different time zones before beginning the many calls she had to make to her fellow alters.

_**Author's Note: Yeah, I could have made a very steamy, sex scene but I hadn't planned on this being mature. It is a bit gory and could be teen (?). Do you think I need to change the rating?**_


	38. Chapter 37: The Night's a Wash

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 37: The Night's a Wash**

Mindful of what he and Sheara had talked about, Feral made it a point to pull the other alters to another room to speak with them in private. The SWAT Kats and the rest of the teams were a bit puzzled but said nothing as Feral and his group left the room.

"I'm ashamed to admit this but my new mate has brought something very important to my attention. Killing Viper shouldn't have happened. I should have made you all take a dinner break and insured you had sated yourselves before going out on this hunt," he began without preamble once they were safely behind a locked door and away from the hall where they could be possibly overheard.

One of the alters stared at him in confusion, interrupting with an objection, "but.....I thought, killing the omegas was the real objective so they wouldn't cause any further problems for this city?"

Feral grimaced. "I didn't mislead you. That is my ulterior motive but it shouldn't have been that obvious. An accident is easily explained but killing him outright because we were hungry isn't going to cut it with normal Kats. We know it wasn't just due to hunger. Our instincts plainly said....PREY...very loudly and we treated him as just that. Unfortunately, our fellow Kats would not be able to understand that instinctual need so would simply decide we are as dangerous as the omegas and choose to hunt us down too," he grimly warned them.

Stunned looks and gasps of shock greeted that pronouncement.

"Yeah, that's how I felt when she brought it to my attention. We were lucky that only you, my hand picked black ops team, and the SWAT Kats were the only witnesses. They won't say anything about it, I'll make sure of it. However, it does point out a problem we need to address. My mate is contacting all the alters and warning them to be very cautious in their primitive form. We want to be known as a benefit to Katkind, not a threat," he said, soberly.

"Geeze, Feral that's just down right scary! And what a pit! It's bad enough trying to learn to overcome all these new instincts but to know we could also lose our lives for it is just the final straw!" One of them growled bitterly, displaying a combination of anger and dismay. "Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate you warning us, though." Shuddering at the thought at how close they'd come to disaster.

"I know it isn't fair......" Feral started to say, trying to placate him, but was interrupted.

"Damn right it isn't fair but this whole thing we'd been caught up in wasn't fair. No sense crying about it now, just be glad we caught some kind of break right now before we'd done something irreparable," a much cooler head interjected. Feral turned to look at the burly orange tabby who'd spoken, nodding his head in appreciation for the comment. Then the tabby said with deliberate callousness, apparently trying to calm everyone down with a change of subject at Feral's expense, "Hey! I didn't know you were mated. Is it the she-kat you were forced to knock up?"

Feral winced at his attempt, but answered readily enough. "Her name is Sheara and yes, she's the one I was forced to be with. We attempted to get to know each other recently and pretty much had our noses rubbed into the fact by our primitive selves that we were mates whether we'd gotten that way in the civilized way or not," he said ruefully. "Fortunately, we did click and have come to care for each other though I would have preferred to have done it in a more proper manner."

Some of his companions could only snort at that lament. "Tough, Feral! Count your blessings you've been graced with a mate. The rest of us aren't so sure if normal she-kats will be put off by our strangeness and there weren't that many females that creep took at the beginning of our nightmare. Only the ones allowed to mate were moderately fortunate their females wanted them but there were a few that refused the male that had been with them but the rest of us are just shit out of luck," the same gruff male said bitterly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope things do get better for you all.......please don't give up....but admittedly, this is another reason to be careful on the job or off when we take our primitive side," Feral said quietly.

"You've made your point.....really graphically, Feral. We've been granted a reprieve, as it were, from making a grave mistake that could have meant a gruesome death at the paws of the ones we've sworn to protect. I, for one, intend to make it a mission in my life to be ever watchful over my primitive self's needs and never let it get out of my control again," another of the alters said grimly.

Everyone in the room nodded their heads in solemn agreement.

"Good! I'm glad to hear that and equally glad we've caught this problem in time. So, right now, let's return to my office and discuss tonight's assignments," Feral ordered, relieved to have this addressed and sorted out. It was time to get back to the mission at paw.

They reentered his office. The others eyed them in concern but Feral didn't enlighten them.

"Alright, tonight we continue our search for Dark Kat. He is the last on our list of omegas to take down. I wish we could get the Pastmaster but there's no telling when he'd appear and I'm not sure even altered, we are a match for him. Perhaps finding a magical solution will help there, I'll have to check with Dr. Sinian about that. Anyway, split up into your teams and happy hunting. This time however, I'm going to be roaming with the SWAT Kats. We're going to do an aerial reconnaissance of the places Dark Kat loves to frequent. Keep in touch and good luck!" Feral told his group. Everyone nodded and quickly slipped out.

Razor eyed Feral in surprise. "So you don't want to just wait until we hear from the teams, eh? I can't say I blame you but don't hold your breathe on finding the creep anytime soon. He's just too canny."

"I know, but I can't just sit by and do nothing. If nothing else, perhaps we'll force his paw into striking earlier than he might have planned," Feral said with a shrug, leading the way back to the flight line.

"As good a reason as any," T-Bone grunted, signaling the canopy to open.

They all jumped aboard and T-Bone was soon going to VTOL to lift off the deck. As soon as they were high above Enforcer Headquarters, he asked, "so where to first, Commander?"

"You know his favorite hiding places as well as I do, pick an area," Feral grunted.

"Let's cruise over the docks, T-Bone," Razor suggested.

"Roger!"

Over the next few hours they cruised over large areas of dockyards then moved onto abandoned military facilities and by dawn they checked a few nearby mountains......nothing.

Dispirited, bored, and tired, they returned to Enforcer Headquarters just as the sun was rising. Feral had received equally dismal reports from his teams.

Feral sighed in irritation. He'd known the hunt might find no sign of the wily evil Kat but he had so hope there might have been at least a whiff of him somewhere. Acknowledging defeat for the moment, he called a halt and had the teams go home to rest and to report to his office around three in the afternoon.

When the SWAT Kats dropped him off at his building, he told them, "you might as well return to whatever you do when you're home. I'll let my black ops teams nose around each night for awhile and call you if we get a nibble."

"Sounds like a good idea," T-Bone agreed.

"Unfortunately, Dark Kat will probably strike first before we ever find him," Razor said gloomily.

"Then we'll be ready for him and take him out," Feral said firmly, jumping down from the cockpit then waving goodbye to them as they lifted off and headed for home.

Though it had been a wash out of an evening, Feral wasn't really that tired, so decided to get some other work done for a few hours before going home to Sheara.

A week went by and still no sign of Dark Kat. Feral's black ops teams turned over every sleazy joint and shook down all the criminals that might have an inkling of what Dark Kat was up to but their efforts were fruitless. Feral was resigned to waiting out the criminal, hoping he didn't make this a loooong wait as he was known to do.

In a well hidden, underground, sanctuary an angry form paced before an enormous fireplace.

"Feral has killed Viper!" The figure snarled bitterly. "That tom has changed a lot since his ordeal with that crazed lunatic that had wanted to take over the world. My plans have had to be altered to deal with this new anomaly far too often and, I don't like the fact he has Hard Drive under such stringent guard."

He halted his pacing and glared at someone standing in the shadows nearby.

"Have his search teams stopped their constant poking around?" He demanded.

"No sir! They can still be found in all the dives, warehouse areas, and around the supplies and weapons dealers on a frequent basis. Those altered Kats make coming anywhere near them too great a risk of discovery since their senses are far more acute than a normal Kats," one of his ninjas said carefully.

"Curse them all!" The dark figure roared, shaking his fists into the air.

His ninjas shrank back and tried to make themselves smaller while their boss had a hissy fit. After trashing the room, he gave a huff and tossed a piece of chair into the fire.

"He won't stop me! Altered or not, I will take this city. Prepare my forces.......we strike at dawn four days from now!" He ordered coldly.

The ninjas melted away to do his bidding.

Dark Kat stared into the fire. "You may have changed but I have been planning for every contingency, including your altered form. You will not defeat me this time nor will those infernal SWAT Kats succeed either. Feral! You may have survived that madman but your luck runs out now! I swear it!" The only response to his fierce, vocal promise were the soft chittering of his creeplings hiding near the ceiling above him.

In an apartment bedroom, darkened with heavy drapes, a dark figure lay on his back on a bed with a warm body draped over his sated form. Feral caressed his mate Sheara after making love to her several times before she succumbed to sleep.

Despite being tired, sleep eluded him. His gold eyes stared off into the distance as his mind ran over every precaution he'd made in preparation of Dark Kat making a violent appearance. Some inner sense warned him he would be seeing that evil creature very soon.

He had beefed up city defenses as best as he could and he was certain, Razor had made time to develop some new toys to go alone with the ones he'd gotten from Professor Hackle. Then there was the huge robot Razor had told him about that was as tall as building and strong enough to take our Dark Kat's Fear Ship, if the creep decided to use it. There was simply nothing more he could do but wait.

He sighed deeply, gave Sheara a kiss on the top of her head then buried his nose in her hair and tried to get some sleep.


	39. Chapter 38: The Final Showdown

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 38: The Final Showdown**

As he swore to do, Dark Kat slipped into the heart of the city on the early morning air currents four days later with a force the city had never seen before. Just as the sun rose far enough to illuminate the city, the street lights cut out leaving the streets in a shadowed haze between dark and light. Into this the formidable omega's forces poured into the city center covering the area from City Hall to Enforcer Headquarters with a blanket of evil.

He'd spent months breeding huge creeplings, hiring mercenaries from other countries, and increasing the number of his elite ninja forces until he had an army of some two thousand troops, a hundred tanks and a fleet of jet fighters. The soldiers were armed with the latest weapons he'd gotten off the black market which had been far easier to do than normal due to the chaos the world was still in from the war that had just ended.

From the air, he swooped in with his enhanced and enlarged Fear Ship, surrounded by a fleet of small but fast bullet style jets and the original smaller creeplings. Crawling out of the sewers the soldiers, dressed in light but durable and nearly impenetrable armor and armed with more powerful lasers, bazookas and rocket launchers poured forth, two blocks from Enforcer Headquarters. From the shadows as well as the sewers, that weren't belching mercenaries, the huge creeplings crawled out, standing some five feet tall.

Dark Kat had split his forces, half the soldiers and altered creeplings descended on city hall, taking it quickly since no one was at work except for the security guards. The rest of his forces marched on Enforcer Headquarters and were nearly finished surrounding it when the first glitch in his plan occurred.

He thought he'd managed to sneak in without being noticed but the alters were out prowling the area and spotted the invaders in time to sound the alarm.

Steele had taken to staying at headquarters for the past month, unable and unwilling to be too far away, aware Dark Kat would be making his move soon. He did it voluntarily, not wanting the Commander to be burdened with the duty. As far as he was concerned, Feral had done his part in the world war just past and had paid a heavy price. It was only fair he do his part in this mini-war on their own turf.

As soon as he'd been alerted, he immediately put Enforcer Headquarters on alert status one and recalled all personal with the warning the building entry points were already compromised and for all troops and officers muster at Megakat Park to await an airlift.

Now he had to find a way to retrieve his troops when the night shift choppers couldn't pick them up with the enemy hovering over them. He did, however, launch the squadron of jets that were on night shift into the air to harry the enemy until he could be up to full strength. Any chopper patrols still out in the city had been told stay away for now and await further orders. He had a crew go to the roof cannons and begin firing. Having done what he could to keep Enforcer Headquarters from being over run, Steel hurriedly called the SWAT Kats.

Both males jerked from their beds, hearts pounding, as they flew through their apartment to reach the alarm in the garage.

"Razor!"

"Steele here, Dark Kat is just about completed surrounding Enforcer Headquarters and, before they were killed, the security at City Hall warned it had been taken over. The bastard is here with an enormous force of tanks, creeplings, and mini-fighter jets plus that damn Fear Ship. I can't recall my troops to me without them being wiped out trying to get in here," Steele quickly told them, the sound of the roof cannons booming behind his voice.

"Here's what I need you to do as fast as possible. Retrieve Commander Feral from home and bring him here then retrieve my pilots from Megakat Park where I have them mustering. With them and you back, I'll be able to send choppers to get the rest of the enforcers while you hold off Dark Kat's forces. That's it! Haul your asses!" Steele barked then cut the connection so he could call Feral.

"Crud!" Chance hissed to his partner as they raced down the ladder to the hangar.

"Well the waiting is finally over and it sounds like were in for a battle worse than the one we just fought!" Razor said grimly as he strapped himself in and prepared to fight.

"You may be right, but I intend to win this one just as we did the last one. Hold on, going to sonic," T-Bone warned as he fired all engines on the Turbokat and they shot across the sky like a bullet.

In his apartment, Feral was jerked awake by the his building shaking and the way-too close sounds of battle. Suddenly his radio toned.

He snatched it up and barked, "Feral!"

"Sir, Dark Kat has launched his attack!" Steele said without preamble then quickly reported what the advanced alter scouts had told him, what actions he'd taken, and the status of headquarters and city hall. "The SWAT Kats should be nearing your place to pick you up and bring you here then I've sent them to get our pilots from Megakat Park. Squadron Omega is scrambled and doing its best to hold Dark Kat's forces from over running us until we are at full strength."

Feral's body went cold when he heard about the force Dark Kat had mustered. He was really glad Steele was now a competent leader and had gotten them as protected as he could without waiting for orders from him. "Great job! Make sure all entrances to headquarters is locked and guarded and have the alters report to my office. See you soon!" He responded. Steele acknowledged his orders and the connection was cut."

Sheara eyed him in concern when he turn toward her. She reached up to caress his cheek, he leaned forward to kiss her hard. Pulling back he stared into her eyes a moment longer, saying,

"stay safe, love. I know how badly you want to help but our little one needs you for its survival," Feral murmured.

"I know, love. I hate the necessity but I will remain here. You come back to me!"

"I'll make every effort to my love," Feral promised then released her and got up. Dressing hurriedly, he was ready to go within minutes. Suddenly a sonic boom shook his apartment. "The SWAT Kats are here. Good bye my love!" He said hurriedly.

"My love goes with you, Ulysses!" She called to his departing back.

He raced through his apartment, went out but locked the door behind him before running to the stairs and heading for the roof. There waiting for him when he burst out the roof door was the Turbokat. He leaped to the wing and climbed in beside Razor.

T-Bone closed the canopy and sent the jet upward by VTOL.

"I hope you're ready for this!" Feral growled, looking out the window but unable to see much yet.

"We are! Don't worry! We'll get your pilots delivered as fast as possible then take on Dark Kat. You need to contact Professor Hackle and have his giant Cybertron head our way. It should make short work of most of the tanks and the Fear Ship......we hope! It's our ace in the hole.........Look Out T-Bone!" Razor interrupted himself abruptly to bark at his partner as a cluster of mini-jets attacked them.

T-Bone tipped the jet sharply, managing to dip beneath the attackers, surprising them then turning sharply back around so Razor could take a shot at them. Using one of his newly designed missiles, Razor fired into the tight group. The missile hit the center jet then exploded a storm of electrical energy that blew the surrounding jets to pieces leaving nothing in the air.

"Bingo!" Razor crowed, pumping his arm.

"Fantastic! A new weapon, I see. Great work!" Feral told him, pleased to see they had gotten the first shot in against the enemy. "Have you outfitted my jets with that?" He asked.

"Yeah! Finished just last week. All your jets have everything I cobbled together with Professor Hackles stuff. Your R&D helped me get them reproduced quicker and there's a modest stockpile, though I'm concerned we may run out before he runs out of soldiers," Razor quickly responded, a little concerned about that.

"You've done all you could, don't beat yourself up over it. It's still better than what we had originally. I'll get a hold of Hackle as soon as I'm done. You're right, that giant robot may be the only way for us to get out of this alive. Now get me down to my flight line. We've got our work cut out for us. Keep alert! I need you alive to end this for good!" Feral told them both.

"We'll do our best, Commander. Good luck to you too!" T-Bone responded.

"And keep yourself alive! You don't want your kitten to grow up without you!" Razor added solemnly.

"I promise!" Feral grunted as he watched the jet get closer to his building though it's pilot had to do a lot of wild maneuvers to avoid being taken out to get there.

Finally, they hovered over the flight line. Feral told them not to land and simply leaped from the opened canopy to the ground and waved them off. They soared off quickly and went to sonic again to get past the enemy so they could retrieve Feral's pilots.

Only Feral's nimble feet kept him from being tossed to the ground by the shaking of the building by the enemies attacks. He ducked and dodged to reach the hangar where he was met by Steele.

"Status?"

"We've been able to keep the invaders from getting into the buildings so far. Tank squadrons are waiting to launch when you give the word. Our jets are holding their own but we've lost five of them already. At least the new weapons Razor outfitted them with has managed to help keep most of them in the air and decimated some of the mini-jets. I think Dark Kat is surprised we are so better armed this time," Steele said, giving a wolfish grin.

"I just bet he is," Feral grunted, pleased by Steele's report. "Launch the tanks but have them encircle the building, do not stray away. I've got an important call to make that should turn this war against Dark Kat," he said with a grim smile as he pulled out his cell and put in a call to Professor Hackle.

Steele was puzzled by Feral's last comment but he broke out into a smile when he heard who Feral was speaking with. Grinning, he pulled his radio out to call the tank commanders. 'Oh yes, I forgot about Hackle's secret weapon! Wait until Dark Kat sees that!' He thought with glee as he got the dispatcher to transmit his orders.

As they were talking, the two strode quickly for the elevator. Their calls ended with the snap of the elevator doors.

"I want you to coordinate the battle while I join my alters and do a little stealth hunting of creeplings and ground soldiers. With luck, we'll decimate them rather quickly and with the robot taking out the tanks and the Fear Ship, we may have our city back within an hour," Feral said grimly.

"I hope so sir, and dare I say......the end of Dark Kat permanently as well?" Steele asked, giving his commander a raised eyebrow. Feral just gave him a predatory grin for an answer. Grinning back, Steele told his superior, "Most of the alters have been able to make it here without assistance. I would estimate you have more than half your teams here."

"Excellent! Off with you then and good luck!" Feral said, getting off the elevator on his floor.

"You too sir!" Steele said, pressing the button for the battle command center.

Feral strode quickly to his office and was pleased to see nearly all the alters there waiting. "Come with me to the armory," he ordered, turning around and making for the elevators again.

His squad followed and they packed tightly into the same car. On the way down, he gave them their orders, "each group is to keep to whatever cover you can find so you can sneak up on the ground forces. Remember, the soldiers are wearing armor and are well armed and the creeplings are taller, more vicious and are armed with sharp teeth and claws. We're not invulnerable so choose your targets carefully. Our mission is to take out as many of the ground forces we possibly can as fast as we can. Got it?" He asked looking around, receiving nods of understanding.

"Good! We have a secret weapon joining the battle. Professor Hackle has a giant robot that, if all goes well, will take out most of our enemies as well as Dark Kat's Fear ship. It's on its way here and it will cause a lot of panic among those mercenaries. Use that to your advantage."

There were pleased and feral grins all around at that news. They arrived at the armory where Feral quickly had them all take their war form, arm up with the special kevlar vests that had been made for all their different forms and weapons they could use with they clawed paws. Armed and ready, he separated the alters into teams.

"Okay, we'll head for the parking garage and split up. See you all back here afterwards. Let's go!"

Feral led the way to the elevators which they took up two floors to the parking garage. They spilled out into the heavily protected area and made for the furthest exit from where the battle was raging. They slipped past the cordon of heavily armed enforcers and separated into their individual teams, disappearing into the shadows of the building and into the fray.


	40. Chapter 39: Dark Kat's Final Hour

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 39: Dark Kat's Final Hour**

After ferrying all the pilots waiting in the park back to Enforcer Headquarters (taking over four harrowing trips through Dark Kat's ring of deadly fighter jets to do it), the SWAT Kats plunged into the battle, taking out every cluster of jets that came at them.

Feral's own pilots were making headway as well with the new weapons Razor had supplied them much to Dark Kat's angry surprise.

"How did Feral get his paws on those weapons? They are beyond even my own," he growled furiously to no one in particular, slamming a fist on his console. His ninja crew wisely didn't respond as they had no answer anyway.

Dark Kat's gaze narrowed angrily as he watched too many of his jets be taken out by the enforcers and the SWAT Kats. Adding to his fury, he noted his mercenaries were running into fierce resistance on the ground. Scowling, his fingers danced nimbly over his control console.

Two huge cannons extended from just below his control room to point at the control tower on the enforcer flight line. Pressing a red button, he fired the cannons, sending twin blue beams to smash through the tower windows, spraying deadly shards of razor sharp glass over the controllers, sending them scrambling for cover. A second volley tore the roof off the tower, showering debris on the helpless Kats below and shorting out their control consoles.

Some floors below, Steele received word of the destroyed tower and hurried to have radio and radar backup come on line in the battle center so the enforcer pilots weren't left in the dark and without radio contact. It made the battle even harder to manage.

Grunting in satisfaction and pleased with the havoc he'd caused Dark Kat changed the angle of his cannons and began to carve up the flight line next.

"T-Bone!" Razor shouted at his partner. "We have to take out those cannons before Dark Kat completely destroys Enforcer Headquarters. Turn us thirty degrees to the north and line the jet up with the canons," he ordered as he quickly picked out a missile that would end the threat.

"Roger!" T-Bone responded, doing as asked. In seconds the Turbokat was facing the Fear Ship.

"Mega-slicer missile away!" Razor barked, pressing the firing button.

Minutes went by then the missile reached its target, bloomed open and displayed a far more deadly set of Agracite blades that cut through the twin cannons like butter.

"Bingo!"

"Great shooting, buddy!" T-Bone shouted, happily.

On board the Fear Ship, red malfunction lights flashed on Dark Kat's board. He roared and slammed both fists onto his console. "No! I will not be defeated this easily!" He began to press other buttons that caused his ship to begin to glow.

"Uh oh! Don't look now buddy but it looks like DK is getting ready to do something even more nasty," T-Bone growled as he dipped the jet to get below a persistent batch of jets that were harrying him.

"One thing at a time, T-Bone," Razor grunted as he fired a spray of matchhead missiles that had been enhanced with a smidgen of nuclear material giving them a lot more punch. They crisped the annoying pack of jets, leaving nothing but ash to fall to the ground.

"Woah! That's nasty but really effective!" T-Bone chuckled darkly as he turned the jet toward another target.

The two were not trying to attack the Fear Ship directly because of Dark Kat's enhanced force shield. Razor had nothing that could break through it and was not willing to waste futile efforts or time trying to break through it. They were waiting for reinforcements that would take the ship out completely, so until that arrived, they would continue to take out the omega's fleet surrounding him.

On the ground, Feral and his teams were having some success as well. With his own small group of six, the Commander carefully snuck through the enemies line by using every available cover and even climbing above the mercenary army to get behind them.

Once they were behind the enemy lines, they slipped up behind a squad of mercenaries with two of the giant creeplings. They had stayed downwind so the creeplings wouldn't scent them too soon. Feral and his team attacked just as one of the creeplings caught their scent and was about to screech a warning.

Feral leaped onto the creepling's back and ripped into it with his claws. The creature screamed and tried to use its own formidable claws and teeth to get to the Kat clinging to it. It nearly managed to grab him but Feral ducked and drove his long fangs into its neck, severing its spine.

It crashed in agony to the ground, Feral leaping off its body to jump onto four mercenaries that were turning to fire on him. He knocked them to the ground and began to take out legs to hobble them so the rest of his team could disable them further with blows to throats, the only area next to the legs and arms they could reach since the soldier's armor protected the rest of their bodies.

They were very effective and deadly. Leaving dead and seriously injured soldiers and creeplings, they moved on to the next cluster of targets.

After battling through another large group of mercenaries and six more tall creeplings, Feral was brought down. As he was taking on two mercenaries, a pack of small creeplings latched onto his back. He screamed in pain and lost control. Altering to his tiger form, he roared and ripped into the creeplings with his own formidable fangs and claws.

The fight turned into a rolling melee of pink bodies wrapped around the huge brown stripped tiger. They even managed to knock some mercenaries off their feet during their struggle. One fellow, however, managed to keep out of the way of the rolling, snarling pack and took careful aim, firing his laser and catching Feral in the flank as well as frying a few of his own allies.

Feral screamed in pain, bucking violently until he finally dislodged his attackers. He staggered forward, trying to take down the shooter but his rear leg collapsed under him sending him face first to the pavement.

Pointing his weapon, the shooter prepared to take another shot, when his face took on a stunned look. He spilled forward, dropping his gun, his neck neatly severed. A huge grizzly bear warform stood where the shooter had been. The bear alter stepped over the body and protected Feral's tiger form from the rest of the attackers, taking them out swiftly and bloodily.

When there were no more enemy near them, only then did the bear check Feral over. Making a rumbling sound of unhappiness in his throat at the sight of the deep burn mark on Feral's flank, the bear spoke in deep, gravely tones, "can you alter back to your warform, Feral?"

Feral winced and grit his teeth as he tried to do as asked. He began the change but halted when white hot agony poured through him. He allowed his tiger form to settle back once more as he panted and moaned in pain.

"It's bad then," the bear grunted unhappily. He looked around for a safe place to stash the commander and to see if any of their team was close by.

The rest of their team was just finishing off a small group of mercenaries a block away and, within moments, they disappeared around the corner of a building. He and Feral were now alone and about two blocks from Enforcer Headquarters.

Grimacing unhappily, the bear reached down and wrapped his arms around Feral's waist and helped the tiger to his feet. With his support, Feral was able to limp, painfully, toward some huge transformers that supplied power to Enforcer Headquarters. They walked until they were hidden from view behind one of them then halted.

The bear took a risk and altered back to Kat so he could use the radio attached to the belt he was wearing that had been designed to stay with him no matter what shape he took. Pulling it off, he quickly made a call.

In the command center, Steele was grimly ordering the backup squadrons to launch. Things were, so far, going their way though Dark Kat's Fear Ship still had to be dealt with. He was becoming concerned about where the robot was but had no time to find out its location. All his pilots were too busy staying alive as was the SWAT Kats.

"Sir! An emergency call from Commander Feral's team!" A comm tech shouted at him.

Turning quickly, he hurried to the tech's station and signaled him to open the channel.

"Steel here! Who is this and what's wrong?"

"Commander Dagmar, here! Commander Feral is injured badly....took a laser burn to his left flank....he's in his tiger form....we're clear of enemies at the moment and are hiding behind a transformer, two blocks from the north corner of Enforcer Headquarters. Need medics! The rest of our team has gone around the west corner of the building away from us so he and I are alone at the moment."

Steele sucked his breath in and felt his heart tighten. "Hold tight! Will send help asap!" He said quickly.

"Roger, holding position!" Dagmar responded then broke contact. He quickly took back his bear warform then squatted near Feral's side, guarding him and doing his best to keep the hurt tiger calm.

"Give me the medic squad in the north quadrant!" Steele ordered, seconds later he was speaking to the medical captain, giving him the particulars on Feral's condition and their location....sending them on their way then returned his attention to the battle, hoping the Commander would be alright.

Meanwhile in the air above Enforcer Headquarters, as the SWAT Kats yet again avoided a strike from the Fear Ship, Razor heard Feral's name mentioned and the request for medical aid. He hissed angrily.

"T-Bone, Feral's been hurt.....don't know how badly!" He relayed as he kept his eyes on his radar for more attackers.

"Aw Crud! Damn it, I hope it isn't too serious!" T-Bone growled angrily, then realized something. "Where is Cybertron II? Shouldn't it have been here by now?"

Razor blinked in surprise. He'd been so occupied by the battle he'd forgotten about the robot. He turned his monitors toward Hackle's home and tried to see if he could pick up the robots special signal and after a few minutes search, he gave a sigh of relief.

"It's almost here! It must have run into trouble but from my monitors it's less than a mile away and closing fast," he reassured his partner.

"Finally! Maybe you should warn, Steele so he can prepare his troops for its arrival," T-Bone suggested as he pulled the jet upward in a sudden maneuver to avoid another shot of some strange kind of electrical charge, Dark Kat was firing on them. It had already taken out a fleet of six enforcer jets and was trying to add the Turbokat to its tally.

"Good idea," Razor agreed, changing his frequency to the one Steele was using to direct his troops. "SWAT Kats calling headquarters.....urgent message....."

"Sir! SWAT Kats calling!" A comm tech warned his superior.

Though feeling a bit harried and praying it wasn't more bad news, Steele took the call, "what's the message?" He demanded quickly.

"Our backup is less than a mile from ground zero. Should be here in T-five minutes......warn your troops things are about to get really hairy!" Razor warned him.

Steele's eyes widened as he realized what Razor was telling him. "Roger, warning received, out!" He turned to the comm tech, "Wide broadcast to all pilots and ground commanders on the secured channel.....now!" Seconds later he was given the nod to transmit. "Attention, Steele here, our backup is arriving. As soon as it enters the scene, back off enough to give it free reign but be ready to rejoin the fray where necessary, out!"

"Here's hoping that robot saves us all!" Steele muttered aloud, more to himself than anyone in the room but the techs that heard him felt more heartened to know high powered help was on the way at last. Maybe this battle would be over really soon.

Though it might have seemed like hours to those fighting, the battle had only been raging for some twenty minutes when Cybertron II finally made its appearance. Taking in the battle scene and using the data Professor Hackle had programmed it with on battle tactics, the huge robot zeroed in on the Fear Ship, moving rapidly before Dark Kat detected it.

"Look! Cybertron's arrived," T-Bone bellowed over the open enforcer radio.

"T-Bone, we've got to make Dark Kat come closer to the ground so the robot can grab him!" Razor bellowed back.

"Roger!" T-Bone said grimly as he daringly took the Turbokat closer and tantalized the omega to come after him while trying to avoid the Fear Ship's electrical weapon.

The robot extrapolated what the Turbokat was trying to do so stayed out of Dark Kat's direct line of sight as it came in from behind waiting it's chance to take out the enemy.

Seeing what the SWAT Kats were attempting, the squadron commander's of the delta and echo tactical fighter units ordered their pilots to lure the rest of Dark Kat's forces away leaving the omega unprotected. They succeeded better than they had hoped, as a large fleet of some twenty mini-jets peeled away from the Fear Ship to pursue the enforcers, leaving barely ten jets behind to protect Dark Kat's flanks.

Dark Kat was so focused on taking out the Turbokat he missed the alarm on his console and ignored the warnings from his flanking forces. His ninja crew were being tossed around but one of them did manage to note something odd and very large coming up behind them. He shouted a warning but was too late.

Dark Kat and his crew screamed and yowled in shock as the Fear Ship was suddenly jerked backward and shook hard. They began to feel like a kitten's rattle as they were tossed around, their bodies striking control consoles, damaging them and setting off electrical fires while at the same time breaking the bones of the flying Kats.

The force field went down allowing Cybertron to squash the Fear Ship between it's huge metal paws until the ship resembled a sideways pancake. There was no telling if anyone was alive in it. Satisfied the ship was harmless now, the robot deposited it in an empty parking lot then went after the tanks and what was left of the ground forces.....crushing the former and scooping up and handing over the latter to the enforcers on the ground.

Heartened at the defeat of Dark Kat, the enforcers and the SWAT Kats gleefully took out the rest of the mini-jet fleet who were shocked and leaderless. The ground forces were efficiently corralling the prisoners Cybertron II was handing them and carrying them off to jail.

Meanwhile behind Enforcer Headquarters, the medical team had managed to reach Feral's position and check him out. Giving Feral a painkiller and applying soothing pain creme on the burn, the doctor ordered the Commander carried back inside.

Before they could do that though, Feral realized the painkillers had made the pain easier to bear so made another attempt to change his form to his war one. He succeeded this time and to his surprise and the medics his wound healed enough to be seamed with a healing scab.

"Well that's a handy talent!" The doctor commented, shaking his head.

"I'll say!" Dagmar agreed, eyeing Feral's wound thoughtfully.

Feral suddenly noticed something, pricking his ears forward, he listened intently. "It's gone suddenly quiet!" He said grimly. Everyone else went still and listened too.

"You're right," Dagmar growled, frowning in concern.

"Give me your radio!" Feral demanded of Dagmar.

The bear handed it over quickly. Clicking it on, Feral called for Steele. When his second in command responded, he barked, "what's going on.......we're hearing a lot of silence in our area and see no more targets on our side of the building!"

"I know, sir! That's because Hackle's robot took out Dark Kat and is in the process of taking out the tanks and ground forces. Our fighter squadrons with the SWAT Kats are finishing off those mini-jets. How are you feeling, sir?"

"I'm sore but alright. What about City Hall?"

"I don't know sir, I've not gotten any reports on how the battle to clean it out has gone. I've been pretty busy," Steele said, embarrassed he hadn't checked on that yet.

"That I can understand! Do it now and I'll be coming in! Have the current battle status ready for me when I get there," he ordered then clicked the radio off and handed it back to the bear. "Okay, let's all head back in. Dagmar, where's the rest of our team?"

"They were fighting a few blocks away then vanished around the west side of the building, so I don't know."

Feral nodded and began to walk, limping slightly, toward Enforcer Headquarters. "We'll wait to see what's going on then contact the teams for updates if Steele hasn't had it done before we get in there."


	41. Chapter 40: Cleanup, Debriefing, and

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 40: Cleanup, Debriefing, and a Deserved Night Out**

Followed closely by the medical team, Feral and Dagmar hurried back into the confines of the parking garage. He ordered the troops there to move out and aid those in the streets in cleaning up the enemy after telling them they had won the battle and Dark Kat was out of the game. There were cheers and quick acknowledgments of the orders.

With that taken care of, Feral dismissed the medical unit from him and had them go and seek the wounded leaving only himself and Dagmar to catch an elevator. It took them only a few minutes to reach the controlled chaos of the battle operations center. Everyone was soo busy no one noticed him and Dagmar entering the room.

"Steele! Report!" Feral barked.

Steele whirled around in surprise. "Sir, good to see you are okay. Uh.....just getting reports in from the squad at city hall. They've nearly finished cleaning it out, only ten casualties on our side so far. It was a good thing the office personal as well as the Mayor and Deputy Mayor were not at work yet," he said in relief. "The flight line is destroyed so I've sent our jets to the airport to park for now. The SWAT Kats are checking out the nearly destroyed Fear Ship to see if Dark Kat is alive or not. I haven't heard from your teams as yet!"

"Good news so far. Have all ground forces do a sweep for hostiles! Let's get our city center cleaned up!" Feral ordered, relaxing a bit now that the leader of the attack was out of the way.

"Yes sir!" Steele said briskly, returning to his coordinating work.

Hours later the battle scene had been cleaned up and repairs of streets, buildings, etc. were well on their way to completion. Feral sat in his chair at his pedestal desk, going over the reports that were still pouring in. He had already briefed the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The damage to city hall was minimal so the workers there had been able to get back to their offices after being only a couple hours late in starting their day. Manx was particularly relieved.

"That is good news, Feral. It feels like we're getting our city back at last.....good work!"

"There's still a couple more omegas left but with the two worst ones gone, I agree with you Mayor."

"At the rate you're going Feral, I dare say you'll be almost out of a job, at least as far as omegas are concerned but there's still the pesky criminal element out there however, they are only chicken feed compared to the those dratted, damage causing, omegas. It will be nice to roam the streets with a feeling of ease rather than always being on alert. Keep up the good work!"

"Thank you, Mayor."

With that they hung up. Feral had sighed and leaned back in his seat. His leg still ached but that was a small price to pay for getting peace at last.

His enforcers had found Dark Kat bleeding from fatal wounds when they pried the smashed Fear Ship apart. The criminal died shortly after being extricated. None of the ninja crew survived.

As for Cybertron II, after its mission had been completed, it helped clear the streets of debris, carrying it off to the salvage yard then assisted with any large repairs that were needed before returning to Professor Hackle's lab.

He'd already added his heartfelt thanks to the SWAT Kats when he called the Professor. That robot had truly saved the day and he planned on using it for any major project in the future with Hackle's pleased blessing. The professor was thrilled his robot had been so useful and had done what he'd designed it to be, a boon to Katkind.

Of the remaining omegas, Shard was still normal (thankfully), Turmoil had been extradited to her own country (Steele had taken care of that while he'd been visiting Sheara), the Metallikats were still deactivated, Hard Drive was in jail....still and the Mad Kat demon was in the evidence locker. The Pastmaster hadn't shown for more than a year now. It was too much to hope he wouldn't drop in again.

He planned on having Hard Drive removed to Alkatraz Island. Being in Megakat Prison in the desert had not kept him from escaping so perhaps surrounded by water would keep the creep inside this time. He suspected it had been Dark Kat who had gotten the techno thief out of jail all those other times but with him dead, Hard Drive was now on his own, however, Feral didn't want to give him any chances at getting out before his sentence was up.

As for the Metallikats.....he scowled thoughtfully about that. Before his nightmarish incarceration with that mad kat, he'd always obeyed the letter of the law. Since his return, he'd turned his back on that....choosing to end the problems plaguing them continuously. With the world still on shaky ground, having Megakat City under constant threat of attack was unacceptable. His conscious felt no twinge of guilt for what he'd done to Viper and Dark Kat. So he wasn't squeamish about putting a permanent end to those two metal heads.

However, he didn't want to upset Professor Hackle too badly, after all the inventor was now a very valuable ally and he didn't want that status to be wrecked, so disposing of the Metallikats would have to be done in such a way that no suspicion would be cast on him or the alters when the two robots mental discs disappeared suddenly. He would think on it for a while until he found a way to do it and remain blameless.

Next, that demon box. Perhaps its former owner would have some idea how it could be disposed of that would keep it out of the paws of anyone else like Ringtail.

Lastly, the Pastmaster. He grimaced unhappily. His new abilities would be no match for that foul little gnome. The only thing he could think of was to get that watch away from the creep and send him back to the past without it. However, he didn't know if the sorcerer had his own power within him to be able to breach time without the watch. He sighed and rubbed his face, perhaps he needed to consult Dr. Sinian about that.

Well two out of the many that had been wasn't too bad, he thought with a sigh. Time to pack it in and go home. Even if its only going on one o'clock, he felt they deserved a much needed break.

Reaching for his phone he called Steele.

"Steele!"

"Feral, here! Are you at a stopping point in your work?"

"Uh, maybe in another hour sir."

"When you do, let your assistant take over. You need a break as do some of the squadron officers. Pass the word that all those who had been involved in the battle have the rest of the day off and tomorrow to rest and relax. Have them report to work day after tomorrow. Insure the fresher teams take over and finish the clean up and get things back to normal. Understood?"

He could almost see Steele's smile over the phone as his second gave a grateful huff of air and responded, "yes, sir......understood and thank you! We sure can all use it about now!"

"Exactly! See you all in a couple of days," Feral said warmly, hanging up.

Sgt Fallon walked in with another armload of reports. Feral grimaced at the work but accepted them from his assistant then turned and locked it all up in his desk.

Fallon blinked in surprise.

"I want you to go off duty and not come back until day after tomorrow. I've already given orders that all who was in the battle today will be given the same," Feral said, mildly amused by his assistant's surprised look.

Fallon's face broke into a grin. "That's the best order I've received today, thank you, sir!"

Feral just waved him off and got up from his seat to go get his coat.

Fallon followed him to the door then commented lightly, "got someone special waiting, sir?"

Feral gave Fallon a wicked grin as he pulled his coat on and gestured for the sergeant to proceed him out the door. "I do indeed. My fiancé is waiting for me."

The sergeant grinned more broadly and gave his commander a quick clap on the shoulder. "Congratulations, sir! I'm very happy for you."

"Thank you...so am I. See you in a few days!" He said before heading for the elevator, humming happily to himself.

Fallon felt relieved and overjoyed for his superior. If anyone deserved to be happy after all they'd been through it was Feral. In a happier mood, he headed off down the hall to his office. He was looking forward to getting some personal errands done with his unexpected time off.

Feral was feeling very good despite his sore leg as he steered his hummer into traffic and headed home. He pulled out his cell phone and called Sheara.

After two rings, she answered her own cell. "Ulysses?"

"Yes, love, it's me. We've won and I've given all the players a day and a half off to recover and relax. Everyone did fantastic and Dark Kat is no more. I'm headed home and wanted to know if you wanted to go out or order in?"

"Are you injured," she asked, relieved he was safe and so was the city.

"Only a burn on my left flank. I'll tell you about it when I see you but its scabbed over now and only aches a little," he reassured her as he navigated through a busy intersection.

"Well, then I'd like a nice, quiet intimate dinner. Know where we could go?" She asked, wanting to celebrate their new status.

"I know just the place. I'll call them now. Dress semi-formal and I'll be there in just a few minutes more. I love you!"

"I love you too, see you soon," she said warmly then hung up. "Hmm, semi-formal, heh? Well, glad I've just taken a shower....now let me see what I've got with me....." she murmured to herself as she went through her clothes now hanging in Feral's closet.

Smiling to himself, Feral quickly speed dialed his favorite place and asked for a reservation in an hour. He was pleased when he found no difficulties getting one. Hanging up, he pulled into his parking garage and was soon parking. He left his vehicle unlocked as he would be returning within a short time. He got out and walked as quickly as his leg would allow for the elevator.

Getting out at his apartment, he opened the door and walked in. He didn't see Sheara but could hear her in the bedroom. He peeled off his jacket and laid it over the couch, it needed cleaning. He locked up his gun and harness in his closet safe then headed for his bedroom while pulling off his tie and undoing his shirt.

Sheara had her back to the door as he stepped in. She had on a slip and bra on but not much else and was just pulling out two outfits. Turning, she held them out and grinned at him warmly. Her sensitive ears having heard him come in.

"So, which one strikes your fancy," she asked perkily.

One of the dresses was a dark green, sheathe that went to the floor while the other was a rich royal blue shear that floated as it moved and was knee length with a simple but elegant neckline.

"The blue, I think," he said after a moments consideration.

Pleased she put the green one back and laid the blue on the bed, coming around it to give him a hug and a kiss. He held her close and enjoyed the feel of her against his hard chest.

He loved her scent as he nuzzled her neck and relaxed in her arms.

She could smell sweat, blood, and the other familiar scents of battle. Pulling back to look into his face, she demanded, "let me see it."

Sighing, but not arguing, he undid his pants then turned to sit on the bed. He pulled his boots off then his pants, hissing a little as he pulled the injured leg a bit.

Sheara came close and examined the three inch long burn on his thigh that was nearly healed. She raised her head and eyed him in surprise. "This is almost totally healed.....how did that happen?"

"When I shifted from tiger to warform. Dagmar was just as surprised. I didn't know we were capable of this before. It's an interesting side affect and a really good one for those in our field," Feral commented lightly.

"I'll say. Sore a little still?"

"Some, but no more than what happens to me on a bad day. Anyway, I'll go take a shower and be out quickly," he said, pulling his shirt off and standing up again to dump it and the rest of his clothes in the basket near the bathroom. "By the way, I did get us reservation at my favorite haunt. You're going to like it, the food's wonderful."

"Sounds great, I can't wait. Go on, get cleaned up, that will give me enough time to look pretty," she said warmly, grateful he hadn't been harmed too badly, admiring the view of his handsome backside as he smiled and disappeared into the bathroom.

She shook her head, knowing they healed quicker than a normal Kat was yet another strange thing about their new forms making them even more different than their peers, not something she was too happy about but at least this new talent was a really good thing considering their line of work.

Half an hour later two well dressed Kats stepped out of an apartment. Sheara looked stunning in the blue dress with a simple diamond teardrop with silver necklace draped around her neck and a white wrap of cashmere over her shoulders. Her hair was swept up in a fancy do. She was just drop dead gorgeous and made Feral drool.

He had opted for a nice simple suite of deep chocolate with a silk shirt of deep yellow that matched his eyes. She thought he looked very handsome.

They discussed the day's battle, with Sheara asking expert questions as they drove to the restaurant. When they arrived and walked through the door of the understated but elegant establishment, all eyes turned to stare at them as they were guided to their seat near a window that looked out over the bay.

"It's beautiful here," Sheara breathed excitedly.

"Glad you like it," Ulysses said, pleased she was taken with it as he was.

The food was as delicious as he'd promised and she enjoyed it immensely. They had a pleasant, long dinner, neither in a hurry to leave as they dallied over dessert and a good glass of champagne.

"To us!" Ulysses toasted, holding his filled glass out.

"To us!" Sheara echoed, tapping her glass against his, joy in her eyes, pleased to see it mirrored in his own.

They rode home in a silence laced with growing arousal. When they stepped into the apartment and Feral closed and locked the door behind them, the evening had fallen as he guided her to the bedroom.

Needless to say, the night was just a grand as the dinner had been.


	42. Chapter 41: Finishing up the Details and

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 41: Finishing up the Details then Moving On**

When Feral returned to work a day later, he felt refreshed and ready to clear the backlog of files and reports piled up on his desk. The city was recovering nicely and had a feel of peacefulness to it that it hadn't in years.

Many knew the dangers were not completely gone but with Viper and Dark Kat out of the way, they felt justified in feeling more relieved and relaxed. They had more confidence in their Chief Enforcer and it showed by the many comments in the editorial section of the papers and on the news.

Feral ignored all the hoopla but was pleased the city was feeling good. Now if they could continue the progress in the rest of the world, he would feel things were getting better all around. Unfortunately, there were still some countries suffering strife and civil war but the more settled countries were doing their best to try and end the conflicts quickly and was making some small progress.

The stock markets around the world were showing signs of recovery....small but definitely there giving many leaders hope that the worst was over and that by another year or two things would be much improved.

Feral was certain it would take more than five years before the world was again at peace and commerce flowed more freely. He sincerely hoped they had learned their lessons by this near disaster and they would find the peace they sought their way and not some mad kat's idea of utopia.

Sighing, he shoved all those thoughts away and concentrated on what he was able to do in his own little part of the world. At least fifteen alters requested asylum in Megakat City including four females. Feral was sorry his fellow alters were suffering from prejudice in their own military forces but welcomed them in his own without a qualm. The females were particularly grateful not to be ostracized and allowed to continue their military careers.

But not all things were looking rosy. Now that some of the troubles of the city were settled, everyone had time to concern themselves with other problems.

It was now more than a month since Dark Kat had been destroyed and Feral was faced with some of the problems concerning the alters. Not all their difficulties had been completely resolved. Dating was an iffy proposition for some of them and concerns about the progeny of the pregnant females was still to be answered. That question was of particular concern to Feral.

Sheara's pregnancy was going along smoothly so far and she was due to give birth in about another month. No one knew if the kittens would be normal kats or possess the traits the monster was trying for when he designed his super soldiers. Ultrasound and blood tests only showed a healthy kitten though the doctors did say there were some strange anomalies in the foetus' blood but what they were, they had no clue even with the mad kat's research to refer to.

The alters had managed to fit into Feral's command fairly easily but in other countries, their differences were beginning to cause problems because of control issues concerning their more feral side. Feral could only suggest to them that they make time to allow that part of themselves free reign in some remote area on a regular basis, learn meditation to aid them in controlling their more aggressive natures, and practicing birth control until the present pregnant females had given birth.

That last part made the alters even more irritable and angry, inhibiting many from even seeking a partner, which of course aggravated their more primitive side even more. There had already been a couple of incidents in the Tymurr Federation of an alter losing control and having been shot. One was even killed. It made Feral sick inside and even more determined to find ways to deal with their difficulties.

He continued to ride the scientists in Megakat City to keep working on the problems and come up with solutions to make these soldiers lives more bearable. Sometimes he felt guilty that his own situation had worked out so well. He just wished it had for the others.

Sheara did her best to help with inputs from her own experiences and soothing Ulysses' guilt. She worked hard to hide her worries in her new job at Enforcer Headquarters. She loved working here but did miss her old command. The two military services methods were, fortunately, very similar in many respects so she hadn't needed much time in learning the ropes.

On weekends, she and Ulysses would go house hunting. Though reluctant, Feral realized his apartment just wouldn't be big enough for a family and because of their feral personas, they needed to be in a place that was quiet and open so they could run free when they needed to but still not too far to commute.

The peace held both here in Megakat City and mostly, around the world as well as Feral and Sheara settled into their new home. It was a beautiful place by the bay but secluded. For his peace of mind, Feral even asked Razor to install one of his patented security systems into their home.

Razor was happy to. There wasn't much work for the SWAT Kats and it was Feral who suggested to them that Razor use that brilliant mind of his to invent things of use to their home city and other countries and sell those designs and inventions.

Both were stunned by his suggestion, Razor particularly felt stupid for not having thought of it himself. When he checked the internet, he found a ready made market of buyers that were begging for some of his defensive weapons. T-Bone was amazed and excited because it would mean they could get out of the garage business, pay off their debt and, perhaps, begin new lives for themselves. Daring to find mates was something they thought was too great a risk but now, it seemed like a good time to find some happiness of their own.

For Feral, the birth of their kitten was all that concerned him now. Sheara was still doing well and was anxious to deliver. Not being able to alter her form had made her more snappish than was her nature. Feral had to be extra careful what he said around her during this time as did her co-workers and superiors.

Then, at nearly the same time, all the females impregnated began giving birth. Two had done so before Sheara and it was reported the births were normal and the kittens appearing normal so far.

"Well, that's welcome news," Feral sighed with relief when he heard from one of the females under his command.

"Honestly, Ulysses, I didn't expect there to be any major complications to giving birth or having what appeared to be healthy kittens. The ultrasounds for all of us pointed to that. Its what will happen later," Sheara said, mildly annoyed.

"Yes, dear, I know. I heard the scientists suspect our kittens will display the ability to alter when puberty hits but, of course, none of them can be certain of that as yet," he said soothingly.

"Yes I know. It does make logical sense that puberty would set off whatever clock that idiot was trying for. We'll just have to wait and see," she sighed.

He went and gave her a hug. He well understood how much the uncertainties were making all of them anxious.

It was less than twenty-four hours later when Sheara went into labor. Due to the unusual circumstances of these births, the scientists had set up a section of the Biotech Labs as a maternity ward. They wanted strict security and control over the pregnant alters for their safety and for furthering the research on the outcome of the enforced pregnancies.

Fortunately, Sheara happened to have been at work when her labor began. She turned over her duties to her second and walked to the Biotech Labs then called her mate to join her.

"Feral!" He barked into his phone.

"Ulysses, my love. Come to the maternity ward, its our turn now," Sheara told him.

"Oh! It's time? Really?" He babbled before getting a hold of himself. "Uh, I'll be right there, my love."

"See you in a few minutes, love," she said, her voice laced with amusement and a small amount of pain.

He dashed from his office, barely stopping to tell his secretary where he would be before racing to the elevator. On the eighth floor, he barely waited for the doors to open before hurrying down the hall to the labs. Stepping through the doors, he veered to the left and went down a short hall that led to the temporary maternity ward. Pushing his way in, he looked around. A security desk was just inside the door and beyond that was a set of swinging doors leading to the rest of the ward. An officer stood up when his commander burst in.

"Sir?"

"My mate is here, can you direct me to what room she's in?"

"Oh yes sir, just a moment," the officer checked his clipboard then looked back up. "She's in room ten, sir.....straight through and next to the last room at the end." He told Feral briskly.

"Thank you!" Feral went past the desk and pushed through the doors. Though he wanted to run, he kept his pace to a hurried walk and was soon at his mate's room.

Stepping into her room, he found her being checked over by the specialist and two nurses who were getting her hooked up to a fetal and contraction monitors.

He had to stay by the door while the medicals finished their work. "Hello love, how are you feeling?" He asked solicitously.

"I'm fine, Uly. The pain isn't that bad yet."

He nodded and smiled at her, relaxing a bit to know things were going well so far.

"Everything looks good, Sheara. You're already dilated to three centimeters and the kitten's heart rate is good. It took the other two alters less than four hours to deliver and I've heard that's also about the amount of time for four others we've heard about. That's actually very unusual since all births can vary since every she kats body is different. We can only posit that what was don't to you caused this abnormality in birthing times. We'll see how true that is when you all finish giving birth," Dr. Lengarr told them.

Sheara frowned at that information. "That is very strange. None of the scientists can tell why that is?"

"No, I'm afraid not. The data didn't say anything about the birthing process. It's possible they just didn't know or care," he said with a shrug.

"That's certainly true. Well, we'll certainly know now," she sighed, trying to get comfortable.

The doctor patted her paw. "Rest while you can, since four hours can go by very quickly. I'll be checking in on you regular." With that he and the nurses left the room.

Feral stepped forward and took a chair by her bedside then took her paw in his. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss before sitting back and sighing.

"I hate waiting."

Sheara snorted, "oh, and its so not a picnic for me either but at least you aren't going to be writhing in pain for the next few hours." Her expression a bit sour.

Feral was wise enough not to comment on that as he could see she wanted to fight to distract herself but he had a better idea.

"I heard some news just before getting here," he began.

Her eyes lit with interest. "Oh, what about?"

Smiling mentally to himself, he began to tell her everything that had been going on recently in other countries as well as news that the Tymurr Federation was changing its laws on how it dealt with its females and not just the alters. That had made Sheara's face light up with pleasure.

"Well, its about time!"

"Its not much but it is a start and you and the others were the reason it happened," Feral said with a smile.

"It's something that needed to happen and I'm glad to see it's finally happening in my life time."

Over the next few hours, Sheara labored. It definitely wasn't fun and she nearly broke the bones in her mate's paw when the contractions became much more painful. Just like all the others, her labors ended after four and a half hours.

The room looked like a hurricane hit it by the time the kitten was weighed, check over, cleaned, then handed off to its mother to hold.

As the room was cleared out, Feral stayed close to his mate and stared down at his son. The kitten was beautiful and was amazingly healthy.

Little Reo was dark like his father, but had stripes like his tiger-cross mother and a tiny thatch of black hair like his father.

"He is soo beautiful, my love," he whispered, voice filled with awe.

"As handsome as his father, love," she murmured, looking down at her son adoringly.

* * *

Just a few days later, Feral took his wife and son home. Many sleepless nights later, he learned very rapidly what new parenthood was like.

He showed up at work two days after his son was born. Sgt Fallon had to hide his smile of amusement at the sight of his superior napping at his desk from time to time. It was a good thing Steele was as good an officer as he was now. Fallon felt it necessary to have the second in command handle most of the work while only sending the things that absolutely required the Commander's attention so that Feral wouldn't feel overwhelmed when he was simply too tired to focus.

It took more than a month for Feral to feel like he wasn't a walking zombie all the time. Work was slow and steady so he didn't feel stressed. He also made sure to run the woods near his home frequently, to ease his primitive forms demands for release.

Less than two weeks after her son's birth, Sheara got to alter for the first time since she got pregnant. She would have loved to have romped with her mate but someone had to stay with the kitten. She felt glorious and free at last and her foul temper had passed with the delivery of their son much to Feral's relief.

She remained home for at least a month before returning to duty. Feral had the foresight to set up a special daycare for the alter's kittens. Since they still had to remain under observation for anything that might be going on in their little bodies from the changes in DNA in the parents, it made sense that they remain in Enforcer Headquarters for their safety and ease of being monitored.

It also allowed the new mothers to visit their kittens regularly so they could feed them. It eased the mother's minds as well, to know their kittens were in a safe environment.

Things settled down to a regular routine both in the city and in the lives of the alters. At least, for now, it appeared the alter's kittens wouldn't change right now and only time would tell if they would or not in the future.


	43. Chapter 42: Epilogue

**THE DEFINITION OF PEACE**

**Chapter 42: Epilogue**

"Reo, I told you to tell one of us when you plan to stay at a friend's house. Why is that so difficult for you to remember?" Feral rumbled angrily at his twelve year old son.

"Aw, Dad! I was only over at Mitchell's house. You know I go over there a lot," Reo whined.

Feral frowned, sighing mentally. Their son was headstrong, fiercely independent, fearless and stubborn which made him a pawful to deal with and put him in situations that made his parents want to pull their hair out.

He really couldn't blame his son for feeling a bit smothered by them, though. But Feral and Sheara were not ready to tell Reo about why his reaching puberty was so important and so dangerous. They didn't want him straying to far or out of their sight too long in case his body decided to alter at a most inappropriate time. They couldn't tell him their fears because they didn't want him to know it was possible he would change......because what if he didn't? He might mope around or worry incessantly about it and that was something they didn't want so they kept him in the dark and watched him closely.

Reo had been told about his parents, though, because it was being taught in school. Their history lessons told them about the war and the soldiers that had been kidnapped and altered against their will. The schools had been warned not to mention anything about the possibility that kittens born of these parents could alter too.

Reo had taken the news his parents were alters, with pleased surprise and pride. It made him feel special and his friends were envious, especially when they learned his parents were tigers.

Feral and Sheara hadn't exposed their son to their altered form until he was ten years old and gave him an abbreviated version of the reasons for their ability to alter. Now that he was older and had received a more in depth education on the subject at school, it made it easier for their son to understand how and why his parents could do what they do.

But the waiting was really beginning to grate on Reo's parents. Puberty could start anytime from the age of twelve to fourteen and Reo's birthday was in a week. Feral and Sheara were on pins and needles as they watched for any sign their son was going to be able to change. This was why it was so important they know where their son was at all times but Reo just didn't understand that and Feral couldn't make his reasons clearer just yet.

Sighing and praying for strength, he gave his son a stern look. "You will just have to trust me son. It is extremely important to know your whereabouts at all times. Though the danger to the city has become less, my position as Chief Enforcer has made me the target of very bad Kats and they wouldn't hesitate to try and harm you to get to me. Do you understand?"

Reo's eyes widened. His father had never mentioned that to him before. "Oh, why didn't you ever tell me! Of course, I understand and I'll tell you where I am all the time.....promise!" He said solemnly.

Feral gave a relieved smile. "Thank you. Now go on and clean up for supper." He knew the promise wouldn't last but it should hold up for a little while.....he hoped. Being just twelve years old, Reo just didn't understand why this was so important and that left Feral constantly reminding him.

"Okay!" His son zoomed out of sight for his bedroom.

Feral hated to lie to his son like that but it was the most plausible excuse he could use to make his son do his bidding. As an alter, no criminal in their right mind would even think of going near his son if they valued their lives. He never worried about his son getting snatched but the kitten's natural inclination for getting into tight spots was the main concern he had for his son's safety.

On that, he had to trust to luck that nothing really bad would happen to Reo. This was a parent's worst nightmare that he never dreamed he would be living. Sighing, he went to his own room to change clothes.

* * *

During Reo's growing up time, the world had gradually settled down, the stock markets were climbing laboriously back to normal, and Megakat City was enjoying the longest period of relative peace from major violence since the omegas hit the scene over twenty years ago.

There were still scientific accidents that caused some panic but these were nipped in the bud so quickly that most forgot about them before they could form any lasting memory. The SWAT Kats worked paw in paw with the Enforcers during those type of emergencies but were otherwise, rarely seen since the enforcers were able to handle most of the crime in the city now.

Chance and Jake were enjoying living lives of their own. Jake had met a really nice she-kat and had married her a few years ago. Chance was dating someone steadily but hadn't made the leap to marriage yet. Both were enjoying being free of their responsibilities to the enforcers and their much lighter duties as the SWAT Kats.

Chance had regained his pilot's license and was doing test flights for a new aircraft design company and Jake was doing what he did best.....designing security systems and non-lethal weapons for various companies around the world.

The alters gradually began to tentatively date and marry regular Kats without too many problems occurring. Since the births had gone so well and there was no sign of new alters (yet), they felt justified to go on with their lives. They did have to take great care with their more primitive side by allowing it out and keeping their diets sufficient to satisfy its needs but other than that, they were able to live fairly normal lives.

The only ones still nervous and concerned were the alter parents about their off spring and only time would tell them what the future held there. There was a new concern as well.....the alters who took up with a normal Kat....would they breed alters too? Too many questions that only time could give them the answers on.

* * *

Reo celebrated his thirteenth birthday without incident. It was a festive affair and he had a great time.

More than a week later, things changed.

Reo had been walking along a creek bed near his home with his best friend, Mitchell, on a sunny late Saturday afternoon.

"Hey, look what I found," Mitchell shouted reaching for something in the creek.

"What is it?" Reo asked excitedly, coming to his friend's side.

Mitchell carefully opened his paw and a tiny frog sat there blinking up at them.

"Cool!"

"Should we keep it?" Mitchell asked studying his prize.

Reo frowned and thought. "Naw, he wouldn't survive if we tried to so better let him go."

Mitchell was reluctant and continued to hold the frog for some minutes longer when suddenly there was a loud noise coming toward them from beyond the trees in front of them.

A huge dog came barreling toward them after a terrified rabbit that raced past the kittens feet and on into the brush behind them leaving them to face the on rushing dog.

There was no time to get out of its way as its forward motion caused it to plow into them. They all fell to the ground in a tangle then they manged to separate.....the kittens on their butts on the muddy bank with the dog standing less than inches from their bodies, its fangs gleaming and its eyes wild with excitement and fear.

All three remained frozen and still then the dog growled warningly in its throat. Frightened, Mitchell whimpered suddenly and the dog lunged for him but ended up being struck in the face and sent sprawling on its tail by something larger than it. The other creature roared at the dog which howled in fright, scrambled onto its feet and fled in terror.

At Reo's home, some forty feet away, Feral was working in the yard and Sheara was cleaning house. Feral had turned off the mower and was wiping the sweat from his face when he heard the howl of a dog, cries of terror from kittens, then another howl. In seconds, he altered to tiger and was racing toward the sounds.

When he skidded to a halt by the creek he came upon a shocking sight. There was no sign of the dog he'd heard but what he did see was a horrified kitten and a small tiger standing over it.

Groaning in shock inside, Feral realized the tiger was his son, Reo. He altered back to his normal form and went to Mitchell's side quickly.

"Easy, its okay........Reo back off!" He said as he cradled Mitchell in his arms and pushed his son back with his foot.

Confused, Reo snapped at his father.

Feral made a distinctive warning off, huff sound of an adult tiger and the kitten immediately cowered to the ground and stayed there.

"Mitchell, its alright, you're safe.....sssshhh....easy," he gently hugged the terrified kitten until he had finally managed to calm down.

The kitten huge orange eyes stared in shock at the smaller tiger. "Is..is...that Reo?" He asked in a small voice.

Feral sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid it is. We weren't sure if he was going to change or not that's why we hadn't told him but apparently the fright the dog gave you two made him change."

"Wow! That's so cool!" Mitchell managed to say in a hushed voice then looked up at Feral. "Commander....sir...that dog just came out of no where chasing a rabbit. We couldn't get out of the way and it was about to bite me when Reo changed and saved me."

"Well, I'm glad you're both alright. Come on, let's back to the house and clean you up and call your parents," Feral said, as he helped Mitchell get to his feet and pretended it was no big deal that he was nude so the kitten wouldn't be embarrassed. He made a distinctive call in his throat that bid the smaller tiger to follow them.

When they reached the house, Feral called for his mate. "Sheara!"

"What is it.....oh....oh no....!" She exclaimed when she saw the small tiger then hurried toward it.

It backed away in confusion and fear but she made purring sounds in her throat and coaxed him to her. Once he got her scent he relaxed completely which caused him to alter back to Kat.

"Momma?" He asked in amazement and surprise.

"It's alright son, come inside and we'll explain," his mother soothed, hurrying him indoors after Feral and Mitchell who'd gone in already.

The next couple of hours were surreal as Feral explained what happened to Mitchell's parents. They were shocked and surprised but grateful too that Reo had saved their son. Thanking the kitten, they took Mitchell home.

Mitchell had recovered from his fright and made Reo feel good when he told him he wasn't scared of his tiger form and thought it was cool.

After they had left, Feral and Sheara sat him down and explained carefully to Reo what was going on.

"So, you didn't know I could change but thought it was possible? Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't want you to worry unnecessarily especially if you didn't change at all," his mother told him gently.

"Oh, okay that makes sense. So now what happens to me?"

"Well, we train you on how to behave and control your primitive side. This ability comes with some very strict responsibilities. I'll explain those as we go along but the most important thing you need to know is never change just to show off to your classmates or for any other reason except to save your life. Your instincts are new and dangerous. Even as small as you are, your teeth and claws can cause a great deal of harm to someone. We don't need any accidents because Kat kind could turn on you and kill you in their fear, do you understand me?" His father said sternly.

Reo's eyes widened at that piece of news. At first he thought this ability to change was really cool, but when his father said he could be killed it frightened him. Maybe it wasn't such a great thing at all.

Seeing the fear in his son's eyes, Feral felt sorrow. He hated to curb his son's enthusiasm but he also didn't want him to die and that threat was very real.

He reached out and gave his son a tight hug. "Don't worry Reo, your mother and I will ensure you know how to deal with this and stay safe."

"Thanks, Dad," Reo said in relief. 'Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all,' he thought.

* * *

Feral immediately sent word to the scientists about his son's change. Word went out around the world to the other alters, warning them that their kittens would change. Whether it would happen as Feral's kitten had due to being attacked or just spontaneously, no one could say but now the alter parents knew their kittens would change.

As for those married to Kats, it soon turned out their kittens had a 50-50 chance of being an alter or not.

The world was going to be an interesting place in the future as the population began to have those that could and those that couldn't alter their forms. A strange new world indeed.


End file.
